XHearts
by Keyote
Summary: What if the Roxas segment in KH2 hadn't been just a simple tutorial, but its own full game? Where the heart goes and what will it reveal lies at the end of the road not taken before but will be now. Second chapter set in Disney's Robin Hood. Chapter 1 had been redone with some modifacations, including a theme song by Hikaru Utada.
1. Beginning, Half the Start

"_Our meeting was chance. Our hearts connecting was destiny's embrace" - Kairi_

**XHearts (Cross Hearts)**

theme song: **Flavor of Life**

by Utada Hikaru

You always seem to know

when my heart breaks, I'm left in sorrow

I'll never understand why

the magic spell you put

onto me, brings all these memories

Never thought I'd say goodbye

The Flavor of Life (x2)

Neither friends nor lovers

bound to break this pressure

never meant to live life pretending

learning to let go of the past, to move on

and embrace the future

not being able to continue's got me feeling shady

I don't know how to control these hands baby, ah

You always seem to know

when my heart breaks, I'm left in sorrow

I'll never understand why

the magic spell you put

onto me, brings all these memories

never thought I'd say goodbye

The Flavor of Life (x2)

Whispers sweetly bestowed

arid sessions ignored

I have no use for such allurement

so there's really no sense in flaunting your talk

that's why I imply

although right now it's hard but you gotta keep trying

I haven't given up on living my life, uh huh

Just like a river's flow

my path is full of twist and turns

but I look beyond the sky

goodbyes for tomorrow

this moment I take to reflect and

sometimes makes me wanna cry

I believe in my heart

but I say there's things I'll never know

there's a chance my heart would lie

I use to love you so

but things change and I've given all that I got

if you haven't then it's fine

When I miss the person that is fading in my memories

life has been

like a dark bottomless hole

light has touched the inner cores of my being and now I see

the best for me

new beginnings where I go

daiyamondo

everlasting give me the strength to

spread my wings and reach the sky

I want to give my all

even when the thoughts of you follow,

I'll keep them close to my side

You always seem to know

when my heart breaks, I'm left in sorrow

I'll never understand why

the magic spell you put

onto me brings all these memories

never thought I'd say goodbye

The Flavor of Life (x2)

**chpt.1: The Beginning is but Half the Start**

It was the darkest of nights. Thick storm clouds filled all of the sky; flashes of lightning illuminating the air while the sound of fierce thunder rang out with such fury that it made the ground shake while rain fell with a crushing force. It wasn't the kind of weather one should be out in unless they had a death wish.

Maybe he did?

Roxas was running as fast as he could, though it wasn't because of the thunder storm. Was he running from something or towards something; he wasn't sure? But he was still running all the same, following the path that glowed like moonlight though there was no moon present in the sky to act as a source for the glow. To either side of the path was grass, wet and blowing wildly due to the fury of the wind. But one could only see the lines of grass next to the path up to a foot before the darkness took the sight, leaving nothing beyond that could be seen.

As he ran, a shape took form before him. As he drew closer to it, the shape became more and more detailed in his eyes till he was able to recognize it as a cathedral like structure. Soon, he had arrived, standing before two massive stone doors. After taking a moment to bend enough to grab his knees and inhale, getting back some much needed breath. He tilts his head up, looking at the stone door and the carvings upon it; depicting creatures like something from a fairy tale or a dream.

Don't stop now. Time is short. Hurry...

What was that voice? Who had said it? Could it be the owner of that voice that had brought him here? Roxas wasn't sure but he felt compelled to do as it told him as he walks forward, placing his hands against one of the two doors and pushing against it with all of his might. After a moment of great effort, it finally budged and moved enough to allow him to slip inside.

The inside of this cathedral was old, ancient even, with cobwebs everywhere and moss covered wooden bench's. Feeling something drawing him in further, he steps forward. As he moves through the room, he finds it to be rather long, longer than one would think. Soon, he reaches a large opened circular area with stain glass windows to either side of him. Both depicted the same image, that of a girl holding an apple in her hand and seven dwarfs around here while an old woman watching from the shadows.

Moving on, he felt like he had returned to the entrance with the way the rooms were laid out like the stain glass windows which were the only things that changed. There was one with a girl dressed in white, wearing transparent slippers, another of a girl sleeping on a bed, then a girl dressed in blue walking through a wonderland, a girl sitting on a magic flying carpet, and a girl dressed in a golden ballroom dress, dancing with a man. During each window area, he would see different things in the opened areas. Some were simple like large wooden crates and barrels. Another had a transparent door and another a chest with a light inside it. He also saw three statues, one looking like a girl holding a staff, another of a boy holding a shield, and the last another boy with a sword. He noted two of the statues looked familiar though he wasn't sure how or why while the last he felt looked like him. He also saw weird creatures running around but when he tries to approach them, they vanished.

Then finally, after what felt like forever, he finally reached the far end of the cathedral and one final stain glass window, only one of them this time, directly behind the alter. This one depicted three girls, one of them a girl with red hair dressed in a white tank top and a pink skirt. Another a girl with blonde hair wearing a white dress. And the last girl with black hair wearing a black long coat and hood.

Step forward, into the light...but beware...

Roxas does as the voice asked him, stepping forward around the alter as a light shines from behind the stain glass window, casting its image upon the ground. Once he had made it to the center of the image, the world around him blurs and he finds himself standing upon the glass which was now larger then before. From beyond the edge, a hand rises from the darkness, crashing down onto the ground and making Roxas step back in defense before it reveals itself; a red colored Darkside. It continues to rise till it was standing upon the surface with Roxas, then it attacks. It tries to swat him away and releases blast of dark fire which try to home in on Roxas who manages to dodge each attempt at taking him out but just barely. Wondering what it was he was suppose to do, he looks around and sees a circle of light coming from the image of the red headed girl. Dashing for it, he comes to stand over it.

Reach inside. Take it and use it well...

He does as he's told, thrusting his hand into the light and finds something to grab hold of which he pulls out to reveal a large key made of light. Not sure why, he can't help but think it familiar and knowing he could use it like a sword. He turns and dodges another attack before charging at his enemy, swinging the key of light left and right; hitting its legs and hands when they were close enough. He also manages to run up its arms to attack its head. In the end, he manages to bring it down but its impact causes the ground to crack and shatter like glass and he sent falling into the darkness. As he falls, he sees the remains of the Darkside glow and fade away, leaving a smaller human figure falling alongside him. Was it the girl from the last window? It couldn't be sure as his sight goes dark and his senses lost...

Roxas eyes open and he finds himself looking up at the sky. "Where...?" he asked himself as he sits up seeing the expansive ocean sprawled out before him. His mind recalls where he was and then he yawns, laying back to return to his power nap.

"Boo" comes the girl as her face comes into view above his as he lays back on the sand, making him yelp as he sits back up quickly from her sudden and surprising appearance. His reaction makes her giggle at him.

"Geez Kairi, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"And who's fault is that, Roxas?" she asked before giggling again. "I swear, you can be so lazy sometimes. But I guess I should have figured that out after all our time together as you come down here to the beach every day to take yourself a little snooze during all the hours of the day." She then walks a little before looking back at him and asking "So, any interesting dreams today?"

"Maybe?" he says, his gaze falls off her as his eyes angle towards his feet. "I don't know..." A moment later, he feels her flick a finger against his forehead which makes him look back up at her and finds she was now leaning down and her face was close to his, her eyes intently focused onto his.

"Dreaming...about me?" she asked.

"Uh...well" says Roxas as he try's to recall the dream as good a detail as he could before he began to tell her of what had happened within it. Once he was done, he ask "So, pretty weird, huh?"

"Yeah sure" she says before standing tall again. "Maybe a dream about something from your past?"

"I don't know?" he admits, shrugging. "What about you, Kairi. Do you ever have dreams about your past? About where you come from before you found yourself here with me on this castaway island?"

"I told you before, silly. I can't remember anything about my life before coming here, save for my name and a few other bits and pieces" says Kairi as she walks towards the waters, stopping when her legs just above her ankles had been submerged.

"Really? Nothing at all?" he asked her.

"Not a thing" she says back to him in a simple and matter of fact tone.

"Oh..." he says, feeling sad for her even though she never showed any signs of that being a bother to her. "If you ever do remember, you think you'd want to go back home?"

"Hm" she says, giving it a moments thought. "Well, I'm happy here. I mean, I wouldn't mind going to see it but I feel my home is here now...well, it's where ever you are to be more exact."

Roxas smiles at her and says "Thanks, that's a pretty nice thing to say. I wouldn't mind seeing your old home either. Heck, any place other than here would be amazing. Seeing the world and all it has to offer. That has always been a dream of mine."

"Then what are we waiting for?" she says, looking back at him with that sun like smile of her's. "Let's set out already."

Now it was Roxas turn to laugh. "First, we'd need to finish working on that raft we started a few years back when we both first found ourselves coming here but never finished."

"Speaking of things not finished" says Kairi, walking back over to him to pressing a finger to his nose. "Did we forget that today is your day to go around the island and get the day's supplies to get us through lunch, dinner, and breakfast tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah" he says, chuckling. "Today is my turn, huh?" He recalled that it was his turn EVERY day. Not that he minded of course. "So, what are you gonna be doing while I'm gathering food and water?"

"Never you mind. I'll tell you when the time comes" she says in a playful tone while adding a little pressure to her finger. "Oh, by the way, Roxas..."

"Yeah?" he asked.

She then suddenly adds even more pressure which catches him off guard and sends him falling back onto his back as she says "Tag, you're it." His head lifts up and sees her running off, taking just a moment to look back at him while sticking her tongue out at him.

"You sneaky little..." he says, jumping back onto his feet then running after her. Kairi laughs happily as the run across the beach, the both of them passing a little sign they had made shortly after Kairi had first came her.

It read: Castaway Sanctuary. Population: Many animals and two people. Below was a little addition, made by Kairi, that read 'though one of the two can be an animal sometimes.'

This was their home, a little hide away no one else in the world knew of. Or so they believed anyways,

As they ran along the beach, Roxas noted he was having trouble catching up with Kairi which he found weird as she wasn't really running at that hard. Maybe it was because he wasn't really trying to catch her either? As the raft they had been working on ever now and then comes into view, Kairi turns back to look at him while still keeping up her run, now a backwards hop, and sticks her tongue out at him.

OK, you're asking for it thinks Roxas, deciding to show her by now running at her as fast as he can.

His plan was to catch her off guard by making her think he was gonna tackle her, but he would stop just before making contact. That was the plan, but then his foot comes down on a round sea shell which makes him fall forward and really tackle her down onto the ground with him on top.

"Crap, I'm sorry Kairi. I didn't mean..." he says, stuttering.

"Well, that was a surprise. I didn't know you want to catch me so badly" she says, cracking a smile at him. "Don't worry about it anyways as it didn't hurt me at all."

After several moments, her eyes look to the side as she blush's. "So, you gonna be getting off me any time soon or are we gonna be staying like this for the rest of the day?"

Roxas realizes he hadn't moved off of her, making him even more embarrassed. He moves off to the side, allowing her to sit up at last. "Sorry" he says, standing.

"No worries" she says, standing as well. "It's not like I didn't mind it, mind you."

"Wait, you didn't..." Roxas doesn't finish as Kairi then moves behind him and gives him a push.

"Anyways, don't you have some foraging to do today, buddy? Get to work" she says in a commanding tone but her face, when he looks back at her, was showing nothing but a playful nature. He cracks a grin at her and says "Right" before running off, heading deeper into the island's interior to do just that.

**(a few hours later)**

"There, that should be enough" says Roxas as he tosses the last of the berries into the the little make shift pouch he had made a ways back, after he had first arrived on this island. Looking down at the Honey Berry bush, he finds himself wondering what it was about these berries Kairi loved so much. Sure, they had a nice, sweet taste to them. But nothing to go gaga over which Kairi always did when she saw them; her eyes lighting up like a fire cracker. And how she was when she ate one; he'd rather not think about it...even if it was somewhat comical to see.

Roxas begins to walk back towards the small little spot they used as their main home to drop off the days meal and as he walks, he allows himself to once again think back onto how they had both came here to this place. It was something he always did when he was gathering the days meal.

It had began with him being washed up on this deserted and isolated island, alone, after he had been swept out to sea when he had been caught by a big wave while he had been at the beach as a kid. He couldn't recall if he had been swimming or had simply been standing in the water when it had happened nor could he recall if he had been alone on the beach or if anyone else had been there. It had been years ago, that was about as much as he could recall. For a time, he had been alone save for the animals that lived here, always sitting at the beach and wondering when someone would come for him. No one ever did, sadly. Over time, he lost hope of ever being found and accepted his fate of being here for the rest of his life. Then, one night, when he had seen a shooting star in the sky, he had made a wish.

He had wished for a friend. To not be here alone anymore.

The next morning, he had gotten his wish when he had found a girl washed up on the beach. That girl had been Kairi, who couldn't remembering anything about herself save for her name. Roxas had gotten his wish and he hated that he had because it meant this girl was now stuck here with him in this isolated place and, like him, no one ever seemed to come for her, search for her as far as they knew. Kairi never seemed upset by this though as she was always happy and cheerful with him. This had been a year ago, give or take. She had become the light of his life, his savior from loneliness. Because of that, Roxas had sworn to himself that for as long as he lived, he would do anything for her, he would make her happy no matter what. Not matter the challenge he would face or sacrifice he would be required to make, he would do it for her without question. He owed her that much if not more.

As Roxas walked, his eyes noticed the stone shape appear to his left. This makes him stop as he looks towards the old temple ruins he had found during his time exploring this place. This place was the only evidence that confirmed that there had been people here long ago. This place also acted as a second home for Roxas and Kairi; used when ever there was a strong storm passing over the island, one that was more than their normal tree limb made hut could handle. For the most part, it was a simple place with one mystery neither had yet to figure out. In the deepest part of the temple, there was a wall with odd carvings on it, depicting images like a heart shape with light shining from it, images of keys, and two figures holding their hands out.

"Why do I feel so drawn to you?" says Roxas aloud, something he always said whenever he saw the ruins, referring specifically to this very wall. Shaking his head, he turns back to the path ahead and continues on towards the camp. Once he had arrived, he places the food inside the hut within the container basket, then grabs a few honey berries and heads down to the beach where Kairi would be waiting for him, doing what ever it was she had been working on in secret over the last few weeks. Something she had gone to great lengths to keep unknown to Roxas which made him very curious about it.

It didn't take Roxas long to find himself back at the shore line nearest to the spot he and Kairi had built the little hut home at. After taking a moment to exam the horizon, looking to see if there were any ships in sight and finding none, not that he ever did, he turns and begins to walk in the direction the raft had been built. As he walked, he wondered what he would do if he ever actually saw a boat out there in the waters. Sure, he could say and think he'd light the signal fire to catch their attention.

But would he really? He had, after all, had been living here for so long that this place felt more like home than his home had felt...not that he could recall his home all that well that is.

He finally arrived at the raft and was quick to see Kairi was here or should it be still here? She was facing the direction of the ocean though that wasn't where she was looking, instead her gaze was looking down at something she was holding in her hands. Was that the secret thing she had been working on over the last few months, the little thing she had refused to talk to him about nor had she allowed him to see; saying he had to wait till the time was right. Well, today was the day he was gonna find out.

Being as sneaky as a fox, he moves around till he was facing her back then he begins to tip toe forward, taking his sandals off to remove the squeaking sound they made against the sand. He drew closer and closer, almost close enough to see over her shoulder. Just a little bit more...

"Being sneaky, huh?" she says suddenly, a hand streaking into view and pinching his nose before pulling him forward which makes him stumble and fall onto the ground before her. "Sorry, but even your bare feet make squeaky noises on the sand."

"Aw man, I was so close" says Roxas, rolling onto his back and looking up at Kairi who was now standing over him and looking down at him with a smile.

"Sorry to catch you trying to do something pervy" she says.

He blushes as he stammers out "Wait, I wasn't trying to do anything like that. Seriously. I just wanted to see what it was you've been working on all this time. Honest."

"Oh, so that's what it was" she says, now looking towards the sky. "I should have known."

Wait, did she actually sounded depressed and disappointed just now?

She then looks back at him as he sits up and says "Anyways, you can't see it yet. Sorry."

"Not even for some honey berries?" he asked, holding the berries he had brought out at her.

"Honey berries? Well..." she says before moving like grease lighting and flicking his forehead which makes him fall back onto the sand while using her other hand to take the berries from him. He sits up again to see her tossing them into her mouth and, as always, getting a rather orgasmic look on her face from the taste of them. "Mm, these are SO good...and no, not even for these."

"Man, you are one tough nut to crack, Kairi" says Roxas, making her giggle before she sits down beside him.

"I'll tell you tomorrow, I promise. After all, tomorrow is a special day for us" she says.

"Really? It is?" he asked, cocking his head in confusion.

"What, so you don't remember? Typical Roxas" she says, sighing a little.

"Gee, sorry I can't keep up with the days like you can. So, you gonna tell me what's so special about tomorrow?"

Kairi shakes her head while wagging a finger at him. "Nope, you'll just have to remember yourself."

"Man, you sure can be no fun" says Roxas before looking out at the sea and seeing that the sun was already setting. He and Kairi came here to this spot almost everyday just to watch the sun set.

"Say Roxas, you've changed a lot since I first came here" she says suddenly.

"I have?" he asked.

"Yeah" she says, nodding. "When I first got here, you were so quiet and distant. But now, you're very talkative and active."

"Well, it's because you're here, Kairi. Before you came, who did I have to converse with besides monkey's and island cats? And those birds weren't ones for small talk either. If not for you, Kairi, I...well, I'm glad you're here now, Kairi."

She blushes and says "Thank you. I'm glad I'm here too. In fact..." she looks back at the raft. "I think we should tear apart the raft and forget about ever leaving this island. We should just stay here forever. Just the two of us."

"Huh? Are you serious?" asked Roxas.

She sticks her tongue out at him, staying "Heh, just kidding."

"Boy, you sure are a strange girl, Kairi. If anything, you're the one who's changed the most since coming here."

"Maybe..." she says, standing up. "Either way; if we set sail one day or stay here forever, as long as we can stay together, it'll be great."

Roxas stands as well. "Don't worry, we always will be." He gets a warm smile from her but both find their attentions being drawn back out to the ocean by the sudden sound of thunder.

"A storm?" wonders Roxas, seeing dark clouds off in the far distance.

Kairi wets a finger with her tongue then sticks it in the air. "I think we'll be OK. The wind isn't blowing towards us so the storm shouldn't come near so long as the winds remain on their present flow."

"Maybe, but we should still be ready to head over to the temple ruins if things gets nasty" says Roxas.

"Just in case..."

Later that evening, Roxas was laying back on the jungle vines he had managed to wrap and tie into a little make shift hammock that made up his bed, the wind making it rocking back and forth as he looked skyward. Kairi had taken off to a more private part of the island to take a bath, leaving him alone back at their camp ground.

"We'll always be together..." he says before sitting up and getting off the hammock, moving over to a mound of leaves laying on the ground nearby. Digging into the pile, he pulls out a piece of cloth that was wrapped around something. He unwraps the object, revealing it to be a bracelet made from prism seashells. It had taken him nearly a year to make and he had just finished it just a few days ago, just in time for tomorrow; the 3rd anniversary of the day Kairi had arrived on the island, the day they had met.

Laying back down on his hammock bed, Roxas holds the bracelet out over him. "I hope she'll like it." He then turns onto his side, keeping it held close to his chest as he nods off to sleep. His sleep didn't last long till he feels something shaking him, making him wake up.

"Roxas, Roxas, we have a big problem" says Kairi as his eyes open.

"Huh? What..." he starts to say but is interrupted by a loud thunderclap, making him jump and fall out of his hammock bed. Looking up at the sky, he sees nothing but pitch black clouds with plenty of thunder and even more lightning with a deep reddish color flashing all over. "Man, what an intense and nasty looking storm."

"Roxas, this isn't a natural storm" says Kairi, getting him to look at her.

"What do you mean?" asked Roxas.

"The storm we saw earlier...it suddenly came this way even though the wind wasn't blowing it towards this island. It's as if something is controlling its path" says Kairi. Roxas stands and goes to saying something, but a sudden strike of red lightning against a nearby tree makes Kairi hug him tight due to fright.

"OK, we're gonna head over to the temple till this weather has passed us by" he says, pulling her away from him then taking her hand then breaking into a run towards the old temple ruins.

The run was nerve racking with the loud thunder and the close calls from lightning raining down on them but they soon came upon the temple and they quickly made a beeline for the front entrance. But then they see something that brings them to a halt. Before the entry arch was a pool of swirling purple ooze. "Roxas, what is that?" asked Kairi.

Before he could answer, several shapes begin to rise from the purple ooze, taking on shape and form. There were five of them; creatures with thin bodies of a lavender color, tails the same length as their bodies, with pointy heads complete with twin horns above their oval shaped green colored eyes with a glowing silver diamond shape resting on their foreheads.

"Nothing friendly, that's for sure" says Roxas as one of the creatures lifts a hand up, revealing pointed yellow fingers, pointing at them which makes the others make some kind of chirping sound before bounding towards the two teens.

"They're attacking us" says Kairi.

"Not on my watch" says Roxas, letting go of Kairi long enough to send a punch flying out, hitting one of the creatures and sending it flying back. This makes the other four stop and take a step back from uncertainty while the one sent flying collides with the temple, losing its shape and becoming bubble like as it rebounds onto the ground before reshaping itself back onto its natural form.

"It wasn't even hurt by that punch" says Kairi.

"Kairi, be prepared to run" says Roxas as the other creatures continue their attacks, knowing they now had nothing to fear from these two. Roxas uses several punch's and kicks to knock the attackers away, then grabs hold of Kairi and runs into the temple. The first one to be sent flying tries to jump them, but Kairi uses her free hand to smack it hard and sending it flying away.

They had made it inside, running down the various hallways. Roxas looks back for just a second and says "Their likely following us. We'll need to lose them somehow."

"Any ideas, Roxas?" asked Kairi.

"Yeah, I...I think something in here is calling out to me" says Roxas as he makes another turn.

"What do you mean?" asked Kairi.

"Since entering the temple, I've been feeling something calling out to me, driving me to head to a specific spot inside the temple. I just hope I'm not leading us into a trap" he says.

"I believe in you" comes Kairi as the pass into a large room with a familiar wall opposite them; the wall with the weird carvings upon it which were now glowing. "What...?"

"I knew there was something odd and special about this place" says Roxas, seeing the line of the heart shaped symbol glowing as well as tall points of light coming from the hands of the two people depicted on the carvings. "I wonder if..."

"Roxas, their coming" says Kairi, looking back and seeing them approaching from the far hall.

"Kairi, hold you hand out like in the picture" says Roxas, already holding his own out.

"Huh? Why?" she asked.

"Just do it" he says. "I have a feeling something good will happen."

"...OK" she says, doing as he asked and holding her own hand out. They both find their hands beginning to glow which makes the wall glow brighter and vibrate, then a crack appears running right down the middle as the walls slowly opens up, revealing another wall behind it which had a large arch carved into it that led into a dark chamber.

"I think we need to go in there" says Roxas, already moving towards the arch, unaware of a sixth member of the creature having already entered the room and was leaping at him with its yellow claw like fingers spreading open to strike.

"Roxas, watch out" yells Kairi, jumping forward and pushing him out of the way, taking the hit herself.

Roxas was stunned for just a moment from his impact upon the ground before snapping back into reality. "Kairi..." he says, picking himself up and looking at her, his eyes going wide at the sight as the creature that had tried to attack him was now floating in the air before Kairi with its clawed hand buried inside her chest; her own eyes wide and distant as a shimmering light burst out from the spot the creature's hand was which causes it to be destroyed by it. Kairi then falls back, just barely being caught by Roxas before she could hit the ground.

As he cradles her close, Roxas sees a glowing like shaped like a heart emerge from her chest and float in the air above them before it cracks and breaks into seven smaller fragments which then shoot into the sky and scatter."Kairi, Kairi, wake up. Open your eyes" pleads Roxas to no avail. Behind him, the other creatures reach the large room, moving quickly to attack Roxas though he didn't care now.

"Kairi, please..." says Roxas as the creature's go to attack them.

And then it came, the sound of energy cutting through the air and the creature's are sliced up and destroyed. Roxas looks back, wondering what had just happened and his eyes fall upon the new arrival. Standing at the entrance was a man with silver colored hair and dark skin, wearing a ragged looking cloak that covered most of the rest of his body. In his exposed hand was a blade of red ethereal energy.

"Who are...?"

"I didn't make it in time" the man say, interrupting Roxas question. He then steps forward and kneels before Roxas, then placing a hand on Kairi's chest.

"Hey, what are you...?"

"Her heart...it is as I feared" says the man, turning his attention to Roxas. "We need to act quickly if we are to save her."

"What? What do you mean? Just what is going on? Who are you and what were those creature's?"

"I promise I'll explain everything" says the man as he stands. "But we need to get inside that room first" he says, pointing to the hidden room that had been revealed just moments before. "We'll be safe from the Thoughtless in there."

"What...?" asked Roxas as the man then heads into the room. Realizing he better do as he was told in order to get any information out of this guy, he cradles Kairi in his arms and stands. As he goes to walk, he hears the sound of something clinking against the ground. Looking down, he sees a star shaped pendent made from prism seashells with a rare emerald green pearl at its center.

"Is that...so this is what you've been working on these last few months" says Roxas. This must have been her gift to him for their anniversary in the morning. From inside the room, he hears the stranger call out to him, telling him to hurry before more of these Thoughtless come searching for him. So he quickly leans down and scoops up the pendent then runs into the room to join the man.

The room's interior was small and circular. The walls seemed to be glowing with an energy of some sort that flowed like water. At the center of the room was a small pool filled with a glowing liquid. The man was standing to the side and he motions for Roxas to come to him.

"We'll be safe in here. This place is sacred grounds creature's born in the darkness can not enter. Now we can talk" says the man.

"Alright. Mind tell me who you are and just what the heck is going on here? What are those creature's and just what did they do to Kairi? And this room..." asked Roxas.

"One at a time, one at a time" says the man. "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Ansem, a traveler of a sort. One who's out on a quest, seeking knowledge and truth."

"I'm Roxas and this is..."

"Princess Kairi, I know" says Ansem which makes Roxas go wide eyed from surprise.

"Wait, Kairi's a princess?" he asked, getting a nod. "Does that mean you know her?"

Ansem nods, then says "I have been searching for her for quite some time, ever since the day her kingdom was taken by the darkness, overrun by the minions of the dark; the Heartless."

"You mean, those creature's?" asked Roxas.

Ansem shakes his head, saying "Not exactly. The ones who attacked you are a different entity from the dark; the Thoughtless. In this world, there are many beings within the dark. A Heartless is born when a person loses their heart which is then taken into the darkness, being reshaped into the form of a Heartless which then seeks out other hearts. When this happens, the body that is left behind is also changed, becoming a Nobody. At last, we come to the Thoughtless which are also born at the same time, their shape and form being based on what ever the dominate thoughts were had by a person in life. The Thoughtless you two encountered just now are called Shade; born from thoughts of doubt."

"Heartless, Nobodies, and Thoughtless" says Roxas. "Hold on, there was a light shaped like a heart released from Kairi's chest when they thing struck her. Was that..?"

Ansem nods. "Yes, that was her heart being released and fragmented into several pieces."

"Then that means she..." says Roxas, looking back at her.

"Worry not. Kairi's heart won't turn into a Heartless nor her body into a Nobody. You see, Kairi's special for she is not just a princess, but the Princess of Heart."

"Princess of Heart?" asked Roxas.

"She has a heart made of pure light. No darkness can be found within which protects her from the fates others would suffer when put into the state she's in. That gives us hope in saving her, Roxas."

"You mean we can save her?" asked Roxas hopefully.

"Yes, there is a chance but we'll need to act quickly" says Ansem who then points to the pool of glowing liquid. "First, place Kairi down in the water."

Though he was confused, Roxas nods and steps forward into the pool, finding it to only be ankle deep so there wasn't any fear of Kairi drowning in it. He kneels down and lays her gently in the pool before stepping back out. The moment his feet had left the pool, its glow begins to become brighter and brighter while streams of light shoot out and hit the walls which makes the swirling light glow brighter as well till the light became to hard to view, forcing Roxas to close his eyes till the light had dimmed.

When he opens his eyes, he finds seven gates had appeared upon the room walls, each having a set number of stars on top with pulsing light coming from within the gates. "What are those?"

"The doors that will lead you Kairi's scattered heart fragments" says Ansem. "You must travel to each location and search high and low to find the scattered heart and return it here to the sleeping princess."

"Alright, I understand." says Roxas who begins to walk towards the closest of the doors.

Ansem reaches out and places a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "Be warned though. The entities that live within the darkness will also be seeking her heart and will do anything to get it. You will face great danger and peril while on this journey and it is very likely you will not make it to the end untouched. You may even be forced to make great sacrifices in order to succeed. Possibly even your own life. Knowing this, will you still go?"

"Of course I'll go. For me, there is nothing I wouldn't do for Kairi, sacrifice for Kairi" says Roxas, looking at her sleeping form. "To me, she's someone more important than even life itself and no matter the risk and danger, I won't forsake her just to save myself."

Ansem nods. "The resolve I hear in your voice and see in your eyes leave no doubt in my mind of your convictions. Very well, I wish you luck then on this quest. Now, before you depart, we should get you some new clothes to wear."

"Huh? New clothes?" says Roxas. "Why, what's wrong with what I have on now?"

"Nothing. Those clothes are fine...for a day at the beach" says Ansem, noting Roxas was just dressed in swim shorts, beach sandals, and a life guard jacket. "But since you can't be sure where you'll be going, maybe a little something more casual is in order." Ansem then raises a hand and swish's it to the side, making a light envelope Roxas for just a moment. When the light fades, Roxas was dressed in new threads.

Now he was wearing black sneakers, black and beige colored pants, a black sleeveless shirt, and a white and black colored jacket with the inside colored a bright red. Roxas looked himself over and says "Amazing."

Ansem nods, then says "And now, a weapon." With another motion of his hands, an object appears floating in the air before Roxas which he is quick to take hold of. "That is the Chainsaw Blade, a powerful weapon from Kairi's original home. Use it well."

"Yeah, I will" says Roxas, swinging it a few times before is transforms into a bracelet on his right wrist.

"You now have all that you'll need. It is up to you to save her now. Good luck" says Ansem.

"What about you?" asked Roxas. "Aren't you gonna help?"

"I want to, but there is something I need to see to. These events didn't just happen. Somewhere out there is someone responsible for them happening. This person is likely also seeking her heart and I must track that person down and stop them. But I promise we will meet again."

"Then good luck, Ansem" says Roxas. Ansem nods before fading from sight like a ghost. Now alone, Roxas walks over to Kairi and kneels down before her. "I swear I won't fail, Kairi. I will get your heart back for you." He then takes her gift and places it around his neck. "And thank you for this." He then leans in and kiss's her forehead before standing again and looking at the seven gates.

"Now, which one do I go into first?"

Back on the data island, a single bolt of lightning strikes the ground at the very spot Roxas had awoken on the beach, creating a swelling of dark energy which then reforms itself into a shape; a person. It was a girl, laying naked on her stomach with short black color hair. After a moment of stillness, she begins to move, slowly, as she sits up and looks around.

"Where...where am I?" she says as she looks around. Her mind was fuzzy and she couldn't remember anything, even her own name. But, there was something she could recall. Only one thing; a name...

"Roxas..."

**Secret Video Report 1, 2, and 3:**

**Video 1:**

Riku, wearing the dark garments of the Organization while hiding his face behind a hood, places the unconscious form of Roxas onto the digitizer DiZ had set up to transform the Nobody into data.

"Will it work?" asked Riku, now speaking with the voice of Ansem.

"If we can maintain the simulated town until Namine finishes chaining together Sora's memories" says DiZ.

Riku turns to look at him, then back to Roxas and ask "What will happen to Roxas?"

"He holds half of Sora's power within him. In the end..." DiZ then turns away and walks over to his computer. "...he'll have to give it back."

Does he really though? Riku had talked to Namine about what Sora and the others had gone through within Castle Oblivion. Add that to what DiZ had told him about the likely time Roxas came into being yet it didn't seem to have left Sora any weaker than what he had been before.

DiZ sits before his computer and begins typing in the commands. "Until then, he'll need another personality to throw off his pursuers."

"Poor thing" says Riku, feeling bad for Roxas. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but feel that this all wrong, even if it was all being done for Sora's sake; that they would one day regret this action.

"It's the fate of a Nobody" says DiZ nonchalantly the the digitizer activates, turning Roxas into data which is then sent into the computer. "This will take a few hours to finish readying the program. Why not go get some sleep in the meantime. Capturing him must have worn you out."

Riku couldn't deny that. "Let me know when you're ready to start the program" he asked before exiting the room.

DiZ look in the direction he had exited from for a bit then turns his attention back to the screen. Before he could begin this program, he'd need to set up several fire walls to keep the Organization out or at least keep them from interfering with his plans before they could be realized.

"Well, that's an interesting little program you've got there" comes a voice from behind him, making DiZ spin the chair around so he could face its owner. The figure was tall and lean, wearing a dark cloak with a hood covering his face.

"How did you get in here? And who are you?" asked DiZ. "You're clearly not with the Organization."

"Obviously" says the man. "How I got here is of no concern and as for who I am? Well, I am an fellow servant of the world's I guess you can say. And as one servant to another, I am here to offer you my assistance."

"And why would I need any help from you?" asked DiZ.

The man suddenly moves forward, walking up to stand beside DiZ, then he reaches out and begins to type in commands into the computer. "Hey, what are you...?" DiZ is hushed by the man as he reads over the program information.

"Hm, a good method for restoring young Sora's memories. Using this fake Twilight Town to break away the memories of Sora from Roxas so Namine can place them back where they belong. But there are several issues you'll need to deal with."

"Oh?" says DiZ. "Do tell."

"Well, the first you already know. Even with these fire walls in place, the Organization will be able to enter without to much trouble and you'll only have to comfort in knowing that lesser Nobodies won't be able to tell Roxas apart from the other data entities here in. The second is the time needed to complete this task. By my estimates, you're looking at around a full week. And even if you do succeed in this, there is still one issue to overcome."

"And that would be?" asked DiZ.

"Your goal is to use Sora to help you get revenge on the Organization, correct?" asked the man, getting a nod from DiZ. "Well, what if they decide to us Sora's one weakness against him to stop that plan of yours."

"His weakness?" asked DiZ.

"You know of what I speak of" says the man. "I speak of Kairi, of course. As long as Sora remembers her, she will always be his greatest weakness. The fact his memories of her is what brought him into his present state is proof of how dangerous they are for him to have."

"While I won't deny that, he still needs those memories in order to regain consciousness" notes DiZ.

"Does he now?" asked the man before reaching into his pockets and pulling a data card out. "Maybe after seeing this, you'll have a different view on that belief."

DiZ takes it and examines it. "What is this?"

"My own little program, created just for you. If you use it, you can place Roxas within it and with it, you'll be able to awaken Sora much sooner than you would using your own program. Furthermore, it will remove Sora's weakness by ridding him of his memories of Kairi."

"Is that even possible?" wondered DiZ. Could he actually awaken Sora without his memories of Kairi?

"Look the program over and determine for yourself if my words are true or not." The man then turns and walks away. "I shall return within a few hours to see what choice you made here."

Once he was alone again, DiZ takes a moment to look at the data card before plugging it into his computer and accesses its code. Reading it over, he decides that this could work and makes his choice.

**Video 2:**

DiZ sat at his computer monitor, watching the scene play out before him. He reaches up and scratches his chin, saying absently to himself "So much like how Sora's journey began..."

"So much alike now yet so much more unlike to come" comes a voice which makes him look back, seeing the man wearing the old, dusty looking dark cloak walking over to him.

"And here I thought I would be alerted to your arrival this time" says DiZ, his eyes remaining on the stranger.

"Sorry, but I'm a lot harder to detect than the sensors you have here can handle, even after being upgraded. How else do you think I can be confident in getting around" comes the man, his face mostly hidden except for signs of a graying beard being seen. "So, I see you used my program after all."

"The benefits it offers are of greater use to me. So, this method really will allow Sora to awaken within a shorter span of time than the method I had been planning on using?" asked DiZ.

"Assuming all goes as intended, yes" says the hooded man. "We'll need to wait till the boy sets out on his...quest and see how the end result of each part plays out to be certain."

"And his sole weakness, his memories of Kairi being purged from him? Can that really be done without complicating matters even more for me?" asked DiZ.

"Without question. And it won't just be him who forgets, but all the people from that island as well alongside his traveling companions. Kairi will still be there on the island, but just as another face in the crowd to them, nothing special. Of course, I can take her elsewhere if you would like as even she won't recall him as someone special either. To her, they will all be just faces in the crowd as well."

"Is that why a data recreation of Kairi is being used in the program then? To both act as a motivator for the Nobody while erasing her existence within the mind of Sora and his companions" asked DiZ.

"Pardon?" says the man, his tone clearly one of confusion. DiZ leans to the side, allowing the hooded man to come closer and look at the images on the screens. "Fascinating. I had programed this little virtual simulation to create a companion for Roxas to have on the data island to act as his friend, his motivation to set out on his own journey that would parallel Sora's own adventure. But I had expected it to be a member of the Organization or maybe borrow the image and mind set of someone from your Twilight Town simulation. But I never would have guessed that it would be Kairi herself..."

DiZ studied this person, his awed reaction. Clearly, this hadn't been planned by him. "Any ideas how it came to be Kairi then?"

The man steps back, scratching his beard for several moments. "Well...perhaps as the program taps into Sora's memories and cuts out all traces of Kairi, replacing those images with other faces from the island, those memories of Kairi became part of the program in order to properly erase them."

DiZ looks at the screen and ponders this. "Perhaps..." But was that the only reason? It wasn't really an issue so long as the end result stayed the same though he does wonder if he should run some programs to test this theory all the same.

Perhaps...but not the most likely. No, the most likely answer to this unexpected addition is... The hooded man decides to make a little pit stop after leaving here in order to affirm his thought. But if it was true, then it would bring up so many more questions and possibilities.

"I see you went ahead and have started up the Twilight Town simulation as well" says the hooded man, his eyes now looking at one of the smaller screens.

"A safety precaution" says DiZ. "Despite your claim that none from the Organization would be able to hack their way into YOUR simulation, I decided to play it safe with my own while loading it up using a data version of Roxas to catch their eyes."

"And you're sure they'll be fooled by a data simulation?" asked the hooded man.

"As sure as you are about this program of yours" says DiZ.

"Fair enough" says the man, before turning his attention back to the main monitor which was showing Roxas finishing up gathering the days food for him and Kairi. "Now, what do you say we watch and see how my program will get the boy started on his quest."

**Video 3:**

"And so it has started..." says DiZ, turning away from the monitor to look at the hooded man. "The beginning of his end and Sora's restoration."

"It would appear so" comes the man before turning taking a few steps. "Well, if you will excuse, I have other matters to attend to. But I shall return in a few days to check in and see how far along Sora has come and how the boy is doing."

"Before you go, mind telling me more about these Thoughtless? I am well versed where these entities of the dark are concerned but this is the first I have heard of them" comes DiZ.

"Not surprising as they aren't as common these days as they were in the past. I'm not sure as to why they haven't been seen, but I assure you they do exist. As far as I know, there are at least seven types known to exist at present, each based on a deadly sin that can be found within man."

"I figured as much, based on the three that data being spoke of" says DiZ. "Speaking of which, why did you name him Ansem?"

The hooded man smiles. "He isn't you, obviously. I based Roxas mysterious helper on Xehanort's Heartless who called himself Ansem. If you know anything about that one, then you can likely guess where all this may be going for the boy."

"I have an idea...not that his fate matters as I plan on deleting him once Sora has awakened" says DiZ.

"You would take his life? Pretty cold, Ansem the Wise" comes the hooded man.

DiZ scoffs at that, saying "A Nobody has no life to take. I would simply be removing one of the enemies from the list of enemies needing removed."

"A Nobody has no life?" The hooded man scratches his beard chin. "I suppose that's true...but..."

"Before you leave..." says DiZ suddenly, interrupting the hooded man. "I will have you tell me your name. You know who I really am beneath these wrapping and I expect you to be forward with me as well on who you are."

"Very well, I am..." says the hooded man before reaching up and pulling back his hood, revealing his face; old and wrinkled with graying hair.

"Myzer; Walker of Roads."

"You sound like I should have heard of that name in the past" says DiZ.

Myzer shakes his head, saying "No, you wouldn't. I...well, lets just say I'm not from around these parts. But that is something we can speak on another day. Shayrim, mister DiZ." Myzer turns and walks from the room, a whooshing sound being heard the moment he was out of sight.

I leave him be for now, but I may need to have Riku follow him in the future. DiZ then turns back to his computer and punches a few keys, making one of the side monitors come to life, showing an image on Namine, standing before the massive flower shaped container Sora was resting in.

"Namine, it has begun. Keep me updated on Sora's progress" says DiZ.

"Yes sir" comes Namine, her tone sounding reserved, maybe even depressed. "What about Roxas?"

"You needn't worry about your fellow Nobody. He will be dealt with once this is over" says DiZ.

"But..."

"Is that a problem?" asked DiZ.

"I...I think we should keep him around. Find out how he could even exist side by side with Sora when the rules governing a Nobodies existence clearly don't apply to him."

"The same would be said of you" says DiZ. "Never forget, Namine. The both of you were never meant to exist in this world. Nothing either of can you say will ever change that truth." Before Namine could say anything else, DiZ turns the monitor off. He returns his attention to the main monitor, watching as Roxas steps into one of the gates.

**to be continued...**


	2. Oo-de-lally

"_Kairi, do you remember the day we first met? I know I'll never forget" _- Roxas

**XHearts (Cross Hearts)**

**chpt.2: Oo-de-lally**

Roxas took a moment to look at each door, noting that they were all the same save for one little detail about them. Above each were star's. One door had a single star and rest the multiple star's going all the way up to seven, the total number of doors that were present.

Why did the doors have a different numbering of stars above them? Was it simply to help him know which was which so he wouldn't accidentally make a return trip to any world previously visited? Was it meant to symbolize the difficulty he should expect to find within that world?

Actually, that made him think of video games for some reason.

Shaking that thought off, he makes his choice and walks over to the one star door. His choosing it was simply do to the unknown that was the quest he had undertaken and the lands he would shortly visit. Going with the least difficult option would help him to better know what he would need to know when it came to searching through the other worlds.

Now standing before the one star door, Roxas reaches out and touch's the glowing light within the frame, feeling a warm sensation as a result. Turning and taking one last look at Kairi's sleeping form to reaffirm his resolve, Roxas steps into the gate and sets out in his quest to restore her heart.

Roxas quickly felt like he was falling down...or was it up? He wasn't sure, just that he was now floating through a sea of glowing white light with a rainbow of particles flowing around him. It was quite a sight, one he wondered if he'd be able to show Kairi once this was all over.

"_Roxas...Roxas, can you hear me?" _comes a voice, making him look around.

"Ansem?" he says in response.

"_Oh good, I was afraid I may have been to late. I just realized I forgot a few additional things. Here, I need to give you this."_

A ball of light flash's into existence before Roxas and he takes hold of it. The moment his hands take hold, the light burst and becomes a small journal like book. Reading what was on the cover, Roxas says "Know-it-all?"

"_That's the name of this tome; the Know-it-all. It's a special book that will record all the details of your journey through the worlds which may come in handy should you ever find yourself becoming stuck and uncertain of what you should do next or forget something important. It will also reveal information on any Thoughtless you may encounter as well as Heartless or Nobodies should they appear as well. Also, here is a shoulder strapped pouch to keep it in." _Said pouch then appears already on him.

"Yeah, both these will be useful" says Roxas. "And the other thing?"

The light around him begins to glow brighter as he finds himself passing into the new world. _"In some of the worlds you'll be going to, you may find yourself being altered to some degree in order to better help you fit in. Don't worry as it's only till you leave there..."_

"Wait, what do you...?" Roxas doesn't get to finish as he finds his vision being overwhelmed by light and then everything goes dark for a moment.

He wasn't sure how long he was out; a second or minute. An hour or maybe even longer. But his eyes did open and he could see the sky above him, flowing in its calm and serene ways. Sitting up, he notices many trees spread out before him. A massive forest from the looks of it. Looking back, he could see an open field with what appeared to be a town not to far off with a castle just beyond it.

"Boy, that was sure interesting" he says as he keeps looking around. He then looks down and sees the Know-it-all laying beside him. "Well then, I wonder if it has anything to say about this place already?" He goes to reach for it while saying "Still, I wonder what Ansem was trying to tell..."

His words stop short as his hand freezes in mid motion. His eyes fall onto his hand, seeing yellow fur and stubby fingers. "What?" he says, pulling his hand back, then feeling his face with both hands and finding that something was feeling off, especially as his ears seemed to have grown longer.

Looking around, he spies a pond close to his location which he quickly scampers over to so he can look at his reflection. "A rabbit? I've been turned into some kind of man-rabbit thing? I...this...actually, I can see Kairi calling me cute if she saw me like this."

At least now he knew what Ansem had meant about possibly being changed when going to certain worlds. Getting onto his now large feet, he walks back over to the Know-it-all and picks it up, placing in in the pouch. He then ponders where he should go first before deciding to go check out the town and see if anyone had anything to say while hoping his new look didn't draw in any unwanted attention.

Before he could take more than a few steps, he feels the Know-it-all shake in its pouch, making him look down at it. On the cover was a small gem that was glowing along its bottom, opposite the direction he was headed towards. He realized immediately what this was about.

"So the Know-it-all has its own built in compass? Great..." he says, turning around while watching the light shift in the process. "Well, if it wants me to go this way, then who am I to argue..." Deciding to trust the tome, he heads in the direction it was leading him towards.

As he walked, Roxas couldn't help but find this place to be rather fascinating. He had never been to a place like this before and the temptation to explore this world to its fullest was very much present within his mind. But he had an important mission to see to first. Maybe, when Kairi had been restored, the two of them could come here and explore then. He wondered just what kind of animal would she be? Maybe he could tease her about being an animal like she always did with him, like their island sign.

The sound of voices makes him stop and take cover quickly within some bush's. Peeking out and looking around, he fails to see anyone till he looks towards the sky and finds the source of the voices coming from a nearby tree. Two individuals, a fox and a brown bear from the looks of it, were standing beside a tree, pulling off a pair of fake dresses and tossing them to the side.. Roxas wondered just what was going on here.

"Admit it, old friend. That was the best way to start ones morning." says the fox.

The bear laughs, saying "Yeah, when you're dressed like a fortune telling gypsy and her friend. You know one of these days our luck is gonna run out. You do know that, don't you Rob? It will only take a moment of us getting careless and we'll be caught like rats in a trap."

"Hah, the guards and that Sheriff working for the Prince aren't bright enough to even catch a cold."

"I'm just saying, Rob. Nothing wrong with wanting to be a little more cautious and a lot less cocky."

"Oh, come along old boy. You worry to much" says the fox who sits down and rest his back against the tree, deciding to take a power nap.

_'Are those two bandits?' _wondered Roxas. They had said they had just stolen from some prince and all. The large bags, likely filled with money, seemed to indicate this was so. He pulls out the Know-it-all to see it it pointed him onwards but finds the light within the gem was gone. That could only mean he was where he needed to be.

"Say Robin, I was wondering if we're really good guys or if we're the bad guys in all of this" comes the bear, getting Roxas attention again. "I mean, our robbing from the rich to give to the poor and all that."

"Rob?" says Robin, shaking his head. "Little John, that's a naughty word. We never rob. We just...sort of borrow a bit from those who can afford it is all."

Little John laughs, saying "Borrow, huh? Boy are we in debt."

"That's an interesting way to look at it I suppose" says Roxas to himself. After another moment of thinking, he decides to emerge and call out to them, assuming the Know-it-all had meant for him to meet these two. That they would somehow aid him in finding Kairi's heart fragment.

Just as he begins to rise, the air distorts and a whooshing sound is heard. And then the Thoughtless appear. "Say, what are those things?" says Little John.

"New recruits of the sheriff's perhaps?" suggest Robin. "Either way, we best avoid them for our..."

He doesn't finish as something hard slams into the tree, causing them to jump clear to avoid being crushed by the falling tree. As they get back onto their feet, they look around and find themselves being surrounded. "Looks like we'll have to fight our way out" says Little John.

"Indeed so" says Robin, producing a bow while Little John pulls out a dagger.

"Not good. I've got to help them" says Roxas, emerging from his hiding spot and running towards them. Besides the Shade Thoughtless, Roxas was also seeing two new types present as well.

The first of them appeared to look like knights in training, dressed in simple purple colored tunics with spears hanging from their backs which they pull out. Their faces are hidden behind helmets and on their tunics was a symbol which looked like an diamond with an eye at its center and an X design as well.

The other was a large bodied beast; thin below the waste with stubby legs and a massively large torso and arms while its head looked like a bump growing from its shoulders. It too had the symbol on it.

"Here, I'll help" he yells, reaching Robin and Little John.

"Oh, and who are you, little britches?" asked Little John.

"Escape now, introductions later, friends" says Robin as the three Thoughtless types attack.

The fight didn't take long as the Shade, six in total, were easily defeated. The spear wielding Thoughtless attacked with thrust based and spin attacks. Its special attack involved a low sweeping motion which knocked their opponents onto the ground. The other one was slow to move and attack but it's fist attacks could make holes in the ground. It's special involved it bringing both hands together like a hammer which it then sends onto the ground with enough force to create tremors that could knock them off balance. There were three and one of each respectively. While it had been a close call, they came out the winners in the end.

"What was all that about?" asked Little John.

"Friendly bunch, weren't they? Suppose they'd be in league with the sheriff" asked Robin.

"Not unless the sheriff has lowered his already low standards, Rob" says Little John before looking to Roxas who had pulled out the Know-it-all and was flipping through the pages. "Perhaps our new friend here can tell us more."

"Quite so" says Robin. "So friend, one can assume you're new here based on your odd clothing?"

Roxas doesn't hear they're talk or the question asked of him by Robin as he was absorbed in reading the new information that had appeared within the Know-it-all.

"Sweeper's; these squire like Thoughtless wield spears made of wood and tin. Guess their attacking style explains the name and vice versa. Hulky Bulky's; these large bodied Thoughtless are slow in their moves but have devastating power in their arms. They can take hits but are weakest in their heads and stubby legs."

"Say, did you hear me, friend?" asked Robin, placing a hand on Roxas shoulder which makes him bring his attention away from the book.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just checking my book here for information on those Thoughtless as a just in case they come back" says Roxas.

"Thoughtless?" says Robin.

"Don't sound like their much for thinking about things, huh?" notes Little John, his intent on making a joke obvious.

"Actually, the name is more about their origins than their thought process though I'm still unsure of the details" admits Roxas.

"Speaking of names, mind telling us yours, dear boy?" asked Robin before taking his hat off and making a bow. "I am Robin of Locksley though I'm better known as Robin Hood these days."

Little John does the same, saying "Name's John Little though everyone calls me Little John do to the fact I was small for my age back when I was a kid but I'm now big for my age."

"In more ways than one as it were" throws in Robin, patting Little John's belly which makes the brown bear push his arms away.

"I'm Roxas, nice to meet you guys."

"Now, back to what I was asking before. You're not from around here are you? Your manner of dress isn't one I've seen in these parts" says Robin.

"Though he does have a certain style to him" adds Little John.

"No, I'm not" says Roxas, taking a moment to think about what to tell them. "I'm from a land far away and I came here on a quest to find something that was stolen from a dear friend of mine."

"What is it? Maybe we can help in your search" asked Robin.

"That's the question. To be honest, I'm not sure what it'll look like" admits Roxas before sighing a little. He knew telling them the truth would likely make them look at him like he was crazy, but what else could he say to them? "You see, it all started the other day..."

It didn't take long to explain and as he went on, he saw the looks Robin and Little John were giving him. There was no way they would believe him. He even told them about how they had been living on an island in the middle of the ocean and that it had been the use of a magic based gate which had allowed him to come here, though he kept quiet on the gate turning him into the form they as him in.

"Man, that's quite a whopper of a tale there, little britches" says Little John.

"I knew you guys wouldn't believe me" says Roxas as his shoulders slump a little/

"Hold my friend" comes Robin, placing a hand on his shoulder. "When did either of us say we didn't believe your story? It is true that it would be hard to believe at first hearing it, but seeing as those Thoughtless creatures, while seemingly make believe themselves, have been proven real, we can no longer say your tale is a falsehood either."

"Besides, you don't look like the kind of guy to run around and make stuff like that up" adds Little John.

"And having said that, allow the two of us to offer you our assistance in seeking out this Kairi girl's light fragment" says Robin.

"Thank you, both of you" says Roxas gratefully. "I can really use the help seeing as I don't know anything about this place or even where to look for it."

"So, Roxy..." comes Little John, making Robin crack a grin towards him over that little nickname he had given the kid. "What does this light fragment look like anyways?"

"Uh...that's actually a good question" admits Roxas, realizing he hadn't asked Ansem about that. Just what would it look like and how would he know when he actually found it?

"After leaving the young chick-a-dee's body, the light will have turned into a gem which glows with a radiant aura from within. Holding it would fill one with soothing calm and loving warmth as would be expected to come from the light of a loving and innocent heart like her's."

The sudden voice coming from out of nowhere makes all three of the jump in surprise. They then start looking around, trying to find the voices owner. "Hey, who said that?" calls out Little John.

"Show yourself" adds Robin.

Roxas was also looking around till he feels the Know-it-all shake in his hands, making him think _No way, don't tell me_. He pulls the book out before him and finds the crystal on it glowing as he ask "Was that you?"

"Well it certainly wasn't the tooth fairy, kid" comes Know-it-all, the gem pulsing as it spoke.

"Well I'll be, it can talk" says Little John, giving a little chuckle. "Who would have thought it."

"I would say the same of you, not so Little John" comes Know-it-all. "Just because I'm a book doesn't mean I can't talk or think as well."

"Fascinating, I've never seen a talking book before. What kind of magic make this possible?" wondered Robin.

"The kind I'd doubt any of you would understand. Anyways, now that you know I can talk, know that I'm here with you, brat, and will remain with you till then end" says Know-it-all.

"OK, a few questions. One, why didn't you say anything before when I first arrived here? And second, how do you know what Kairi's heart fragment will look like? And third, do you have any idea where it might be?" asked Roxas.

"Because I was asleep, brat. I may be a magic book, but even I can get tired...especially after having been left on a dusty old bookshelf in a dusty old library for a few centuries. Heck, I didn't even know someone had taken me till I was awoken by those Thoughtless attacking you all. After that, I simply waited till there was reason for me to talk before speaking up. The second question is because I am the great Know-it-all and I know all. And as for the third...yeah, sorry brat. Can't help ya there now."

"Then you really don't know-it-all then, do ya?" asked Little John.

"Of course I know-it-all, fool. I...just like to have more information about certain things before making my knowledge known to others. Once the brat has explored enough of this land, then I can tell him where he must go" says Know-it-all.

_AKA, I don't know-it-all but I'm to proud to admit it_ was the thought had by Roxas, Robin, and Little John together.

"Well, why don't we return to camp for now?" offers Robin. "We can plan out a search route better from there with using a map of Sherwood Forest and the nearby village of Nottingham."

"That's fine with me seeing as you guys would know this place better anyways" says Roxas. With that, they head off back to the secret hideout where these two merry men hid themselves away at.

It didn't take them long to reach the spot Robin and Little John used as their secret hide away, though it wasn't much to look at to be honest. Roxas figures it was to keep from drawing in any unwanted attention to them from those who'd be hunting them.

As they drew closer, they noticed someone was sitting on a log awaiting them. Roxas couldn't be sure but the figure, dressed in an old brown colored robe, appeared to be a badger. He was also old from the looks of it. "Another member of your merry band?" he asked.

"That's Friar Tuck, Nottingham's local man of the church and an ally of ours" says Little John. "We give him the money we borrow from the rich and passes it along to those who are in need of it for food and clothing."

Robin, seeing the sad look on the Friar's face, runs forward while saying "My good Friar, what's wrong?" Reaching Tuck, he places a hand on the old man's shoulder which makes Tuck look up at him. "What's happened?"

"Oh, I failed, Robin. I was intrusted with a grate responsibility from on high and..." The Friar chokes as he begins to cry. "I've failed and allowed the angel's gift to fall into the hands of the sheriff. No doubt he has taken it to that rotten Prince John so he can add it to his collection."

Little John and Roxas walk up to join them and Little John ask "Wanna run that by us again?"

Friar Tuck uses the sleeve on his robes to wipe away the tears, then says "It all started the other day. I was within the church, praying for the return of our king, Richard, and the end of Prince John's oppression. And then it happened. There was a brilliant light that appeared above the alter which floated down onto my awaiting hands. The light was coming from this gemstone which felt warm to the touch; filled with such feeling and soothing calm. It was...well, it was like I was holding the heart of an angel within my hands."

Those words make Roxas tighten his grip, already knowing what it was that had appeared before the Friar. Little John and Robin both take a glance at him then at each other and nod, both thing the same thing. This gemstone must be the one Roxas was searching for.

"I then heard a voice" continued Friar Tuck. "Like the gem, the voice was something soothing to be heard. Angelic even. It told me to guard this heart gem with all I had till I could find someone named Roxas and pass it onto him. He would know what to do with it."

"Well then, you're in luck" says Little John, reaching back and pulling Roxas forward. "We just so happened to have Roxas right here. And your description matches what he has said to us."

"Your Roxas?" asked Friar Tuck.

"Yeah, I am. Did you really find Kairi's heart fragment?"

Tuck nods. "Yes, I did...but then..."

"What happened?" asked Robin. "What has that fool of a sheriff done?"

"He must have saw the light the gem gave off when it appeared for he came barging into the church, claiming he had come to pray. A lie to be sure. He took notice of the gem before I could hide it and he took it from me, saying that something like this needed to be protected within the royal vault along all the other treasures of the land" says Tuck.

"I'm calling bullocks on that one. He's just wanting to score more brownie points with the prince who will just keep it locked away for himself" says Little John.

Friar Tuck reaches out and takes Roxas hands, asking "Can you ever forgive me, son. I know it was important but I failed to..."

"It's alright, sir. I can tell you did your best" says Roxas. "At least I have an idea where it is now which makes things easier for me now."

"Wait, you think storming the castle full of guards will be easy?" asked Little John before laughing. "Kid, you are both crazy and daring at the same time. You'd make a great addition to our merry team."

Roxas looks at him and says "Maybe, but I already made up my mind when I started this mission. No matter the obstacles or the risk I would face, I won't run away from this quest. I won't stop till I've recovered all of the light fragments and see Kairi restored."

"I know it's not my place to ask, but what's going on?" asked Friar Tuck.

"We'll explain on the way" says Robin. "We need to hurry or we'll be late for the archer competition."

"The what?" asked Roxas.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that event was today" says Little John. "But is this really the time for it, Robin? I mean, I thought we were going to be helping the kid here?"

"Oh, we are. In fact, this competition may actually make helping him out even easier assuming all goes as planned" says Robin before running over to a bush and reaching into it, pulling out a hidden chest. He opens it and starts digging through the clothing. "Quick, come grab some disguises and I'll explain the plan."

**(one hour later)**

From atop the stone towers that had been erected around the tournament grounds, the elephant trumpeters sounded off with their horns, really their long trunks, in announcing that the time had come for the archery tournament to begin. All the poor citizens of Sherwood had turned out to watch these events though none of them were filling the stands as Prince John had placed a high price to sit upon them. Instead, they were either sitting on the grass, sitting upon the branches of the few leafless trees in the area, or just standing near the tents which had been set up for use by the competitors. Food and drink were also being offered but only those of the nobility had any coin by which to purchase anything.

Roxas looked around, feeling somewhat nervous at the sight of all the guards stationed around the tournament grounds. They were tough looking rhino's wielding long spears and big axes with looks in their eyes that begged for something to happen so they'd have an excuse to fight.

He then looks to the royal box where Prince John was sitting, seeing right away the mane-less lion wasn't someone with a kind heart but rather a heart filled with selfish greed. Sitting next to him was Little John, dressed up like some sort of high and mighty noble who's clothes were a few sizes to small for his frame. The two of them were talking with each other and, from the looks of it, Little John had succeeded in getting into Prince John's good graces, what with the latter laughing merrily. Obviously, the prince was unaware of just who he was really sitting by or else Little John would have already been arrested, Robin exposed, and the two of them likely taken prisoner as well for being accomplices.

Looking to Friar Tuck, who was standing beside him, and ask "So, do you think this is really gonna work?"

"Have faith, my boy" says Friar Tuck. "Robin and Little John are experts at this sort of thing. The fact they are still free after six months of robbing from that corrupted prince is proof enough of that. The plan is sound and their acting skills flawless. Things will work out, trust me."

The plan was simple. Robin, dressed like a stork; sporting a fake beak, wings for arms and hands, stilts for legs, and clothing to hide his body. He would enter the tournament, winning easily as he so claimed, and get to join the prince for some fancy dinner which would give him a chance to possibly retrieve some of the people's stolen money while also allowing him a chance to get the stolen gem back as well. Little John, meanwhile, would play the role of a visiting noble and make friend with Prince John so he could possibly join in the dinner invite. And maybe he could trick the prince into revealing where the gem was being kept.

"I hope so" says Roxas, his eyes then spying two more figures approaching the royal box. One was a young fox girl who was rather beautiful and the other was a plump chicken. "Who are they?" he asked, noting Little John's eyes reacting is surprise which makes him turn to Robin and seeing a similar reaction coming from him.

"Oh, that's Maid Marian and with her is Lady Kluck, her long time attendant. She and Robin have quite the history together" says Friar Tuck.

"Wow, didn't know Robin was into older women" says Roxas.

"Heavens son, I meant..." Friar Tuck turns to look at Roxas, seeing the boy looking at him with a grin which makes him smile and say "That's a good one, actually. I'll need to remember that for later."

The trumpeters sound off again as an alligator wearing a flowing red cape; the captain of the guard according to Friar Tuck, walks out onto the field. "Attention, attention everyone. The tournament of the golden arrow shall now begin." The crowd cheer as he steps back, allowing the archers to take their places and prepare their bows. "Ready...aim...FIRE" he yells, making the archers release their arrows.

Most fail to hit the distant target. Some get rather close. But only one manages to make a perfect bulls-eyes. That, of course, was Robin. "OK, let round two commence" proclaims the captain. This continued on till the archers had each shot a grand total of ten.

After examining the arrows, the captain announces "We have two who have qualified for the grand finale. First, the honorable Sheriff of Nottingham. And the other is the long legged stork from Devonshire." The crowd boo the Sheriff, making him sneer at them while they cheer loudly for the stork, some already knowing that it was their hero, Robin Hood.

"How'd that Sheriff guy make it to then finals?" asked Roxas, knowing right away there wasn't anything good or honorable about him. "None of his arrows even came close to the center bull-eyes."

"That's one of the perks of being the sheriff and being friends with Prince John" comes Friar Tuck. "He always makes it to the finals when ever he competes in anything and, more often than not, is crowned the winner in the end."

"You think he suspects Robin at all?" asked Roxas.

"Unlikely as the sheriff is an idiot, leaving it to his men to do the real work then taking all their credit. I'm more worried about the prince. He may be selfish and greedy, but he does have brains and can be quite devious when he really needs to be."

"Say, that Devonshire kid's pretty good, huh PJ?" asked Little John.

"Yes, I do agree with you there, Reggie" replied Prince John, loving the nickname he had been given. His eyes lock onto Robin with cunning knowing and adds "I do indeed."

"By the way, I hear you have yourself quite the collection of valuable diamonds, ruby's, and other such gemstones" says Little John, feeling it was safe enough now to bring this up.

"You heard right, my good man. I do have a rather nice collection. All safely stored away within the royal vault to ensure sneaky, heartless thieves don't steal them away, robbing the kingdom of her treasures."

"All of them, huh?" asked Little John.

"Well, almost all of them" says Prince John. "I recently obtained one; just the other day in fact, that is so precious, so perfect, that I keep it someplace even more secure and safe. Believe it or not, Reggie, but holding it in your hands makes you feel such comfort and warmth, like your holding the very essence of light itself. A heart of the light if you will seeing as you feel a pulse come from it as well. It is, without equal, the crown jewel of my collection."

"Wow, sounds like something I'd like to see" says Little John.

"Perhaps when this is over, my good man..."

"Attention, attention everyone" comes the captain. "We will now begin the final round of the tournament. Will our two contestants step forward."

Robin and the sheriff step forward, each taking a moment to look at the target which had been moved back thirty paces for an added challenge. "I'll go first if you don't mind" says the Sheriff, already stepping forward to make his final shot.

"Of course, be my guest, good sir" says Robin with his fake accent, fighting off the urge to add _"Luck before skill."_

As he aims, the Sheriff sees the eyes of one of his two deputies, Trigger, peering back at him from inside the target, giving him a slight nod. He then lets loose his arrow which, due to his natural bad aim, goes sailing up, no chance existing in it making any sort of hit on the target. But then, the target suddenly jumps in the air, allowing the wayward arrow to land in the red, just missing making a perfect bulls eye. Naturally, the crowd boo at the obvious cheating going on, not that the Sheriff cared...well, almost as he does look back at them with a angry glare, making a mental note to make another tax collection visit on all of them before the day was out.

"Well, I'll be" he says, looking at Robin. "I wonder how that could have happened?"

"Maybe the heavens are on your side" offered Robin as he steps up and takes aim. He knew there would be some sort of attempt to make him fail so he had to be ready for any sudden turn. He pulls back, sensing the Sheriff coming up behind him and using the end of his bow to hit Robin's from just underneath while he lets fly, causing his bow to arc towards the sky at the last second which is were the arrow flies.

"Oh shucks, sorry friend" says the Sheriff, sounding sincere while smiling wickedly. "Oh well, I guess I..."

His words are halted as Robin quickly pulls out another arrow and shoots it after the first. The impact of the second redirects the first arrow so it is sailing downward and, against all odds, landing a perfect bulls-eye on the target, winning the tournament.

The Sheriff looks at the target, dumbfounded. "How in tarnation...?

"Sorry, old chap. Looks like the heavens were on my side all along" says Robin, tossing his bow into the air in celebration. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He then begins to walk towards the royal box with the excited Maid Marian keeping her eyes locked on his while Prince John allows himself a cold smile.

"I knew he'd win this" says Friar Tuck, getting a nod from Roxas.

And then Roxas felt it, something cold and sinister in the air. Looking around while a hand takes hold of the Chainsaw Blade, he says to himself "What's that?"

"_Be on guard, brat. The Thoughtless are being drawn here."_

"Know-it-all?" says Roxas, his eyes looking to the book hanging within his jacket.

"Pardon son, did you say something?" asked the Friar, looking at him.

"_I can speak to your mind directly if needed in order to avoid any trouble."_

"No, just my imagination" says Roxas to the Friar. _Are you sure, Know-it-all? Are there really coming?_

"_Yeah, I can sense them the same way you can, through the special power placed upon your weapon. Someone here is having an extreme amount of dark thoughts flowing through them and Thoughtless are drawn to such things like a moth to the flame."_

Understanding, Roxas pulls his blade out, making it ready for battle. Friar Tuck looks at him, asking him what's going on. "Be prepared to hide, sir. We have trouble coming our way." Now, how does he alert Robin and Little John.

Robin, meanwhile, was kneeling before Prince John who had pulled a sword out, saying "Master Archer from Devonshire, I pronounce ye the winner. Or, to be more exact, I pronounce ye..." He then slides the blade into the back of the tunic Robin was wearing, then pulling up hard to slice it off, revealing Robin beneath the garments. "...THE LOSER."

Robin, realizing the hoax was up, tries to jump away quickly but is beset by the rhino guards almost instantly, having been ordered to take the winner hostage during the corination as the winner would likely be Robin Hood, dressed up to hide himself, Within moments, he had been tied up with chains restricting his arms and legs from moving any.

"I finally caught you, my most aggravating foe. For your crimes against the kingdom and the crown, I condemn the to sudden, immediate, sudden, most final death" commands Prince John.

"Wait, you can't do this, your grace" pleads Maid Marian. "He was only thinking of the people..."

"I don't care my dear" retorts Prince John. "He has attacked the crown and..."

"A crown that belongs to King Richard, not you" shouts Robin suddenly. "Long live King Richard."

Now enraged, Prince John roars out "Enough, I want him beheaded NOW!"

From his seat, Little John quickly stands, planning on taking Prince John hostage. Roxas and the Friar, meanwhile, start running forward; both planning to join in saving Robin.

And then the Thoughtless appear from swirling vortex's rising up from out of thin air.

"What sorcery is this?" yells Prince John before turning his attention to Robin Hood. "Brought more or your friends with you I see."

"Funny, I thought they were yours" jokes Robin as he finds himself being surrounded by the Thoughtless which had a new look to them, different than the ones who had appeared earlier.

They were wearing garments similar to those normally worn by Robin and Little John, even having feathers in their caps though their dusty brown tunics and hats had tears and holes present within them. All that could be seen of their flesh was just a small bit of their faces which had a large target like design on their foreheads and a small bit of their arms and legs. In their hands were bows with arrows slung into pouches hanging from their backs.

"Well, looks like the party's over" says Little John, ditching his nobility garments as he jumps over the railing to join Robin.

"Reggie, what are you...?" yells Prince John, then seeing the truth. "You...HOW DARE YOU TRICK THE KING LIKE THAT." Prince John then looks away and says in a hurt tone "I thought I had finally found myself a real friend. You even gave me that agreeable nickname. It was PJ, you remember?"

"Sorry, Peej" says Little John, then turning his attention to these eight Thoughtless archers.

Now angry, Prince John goes to yell out "Guards, capture them all", but is interrupted as the Sheriff suddenly comes running in, grabbing him and slinging the prince over his shoulders before running like he had the devil at his back. "Let me down, you fool. This is our chance to finally deal with them."

"Sorry, my lord, but even I can tell sticking around while those things are present would be stupid" says the Sheriff in response as they make a quick beeline back towards the safety of the castle.

"Friar, get Maid Marian and Lady Kluck out of here" orders Robin.

"I will" returns the Friar, already grabbing Marian by her hand and leading her in the direction of Robin's hideout.

"Robin, stay safe" she yells to him as several Shade appear to block their paths though Lady Kluck charges them like a line backer, taking them all out before they knew what hit them.

"So Roxas, anything you can tell us about these guys?" asked Little John.

"Know-it-all?" asked Roxas, allowing his eyes to glance at the book for just a second.

"Searching" comes Know-it-all. "Ah, here we are. They're called Sure Shot's, Thoughtless skilled at range attacks. They don't do well in close range battles though for obvious reasons. Their sole attack at close range is a kick that is meant more to knock an enemy away than hurt them so they can use their bows effectively. Also..."

The Sure Shot's begin to fire, forcing the threesome to dodge and weave around to avoid being hit. "Their colored feathers in their hats denotes their attack specialty. Purple feathers mean their arrows can inflict poison upon you, sapping you of your strength. Red feathers will cause a burn effect to happen where they hit which hurts like a bad case of sun burn. Orange feathers cause one to go berserk, making your body sometimes act on its own while making it more likely you'll attack friends over foes. And lastly, the gray feathers Sure Shot's can petrify, making your muscles harden and causing your movements to be momentarily frozen. Luckily, these effects all wear off after a few minutes, so long as you don't keep getting hit by the same arrow. Also, you can also only be inflicted by one negative effect from the arrows at a time so that's one positive there."

"That's a lot to remember" says Little John, noting that each of the Sure Shot's had one of these colors in their feathers save for three of them who had brown feathers. "What about the brown ones?"

"Oh, those don't have any special effect. They're arrows just really hurt" says Know-it-all.

"Well then, let's hurry this up and end these things so we can get back to the base and figure out what we can do next" says Robin.

"Works for me" says Roxas as all three of them begin their attacks. A few more Sure Shot's would appear as well as several Shade's and Sweeper's. But they would come out winning in then end and making their retreat to the Merry Grotto, Robin and Little John's base of operation.

**(the castle)**

"Quick, close the gates you fools" commands Prince John as the Sheriff puts him down. Once that had been done, he orders the rhino guards to watch out for Robin or those weird creatures. He then gives additional orders to the captain who had also managed to make it back safely.

"So, what about me?" asked the Sheriff.

"You take those two buffoons you call deputies and join in keep watch for anything unusual here within the castle grounds. I'm going back to my room and rest. All this excitement has been to much for me" says Prince John, already walking into the castle before the Sheriff can reply.

Once he was back in his room, he moves over to his favorite chair and allows himself to collapse into it. After a moment to let his body enjoy the comfy feel it gave him, he reaches in beneath his collar and pulls out the latest additional to his collection; the heart shaped gem the Sheriff had acquired from the hands of that greedy Friar Tuck, or so Prince John saw him as he had lost all respect for the clergy man after learning he was in league with the dastardly villain, Robin Hood.

"Ah, my most beautiful treasure" he says loving to the gem. "Holding you makes me forget all my woes and worries. I'll never let you leave my side. And any who try to take you away..." He chuckles evilly as he reaches to one side and pulls out an ornate dagger. "...will live to regret it...or not live I should say."

He laughs manically at that, failing to notice the shadow come over him as something slips inside from his opened balcony. It would only be in the last moment when he suddenly felt something dark close by, making him turn to look. By then, it was already to late and he wouldn't even have time to call for help.

**(Merry Grove)**

"...and that's everything in a nutshell" says Roxas, finishing telling Maid Marian and Lady Kluck about himself and his quest. This had followed Little John filling him in on what he had learned.

"I can't believe it" said Maid Marian. "I know Prince John is depraved enough to steal from the church, but the Sheriff as well? I thought even he would be a better man than that despite how he acts."

"He always was an unruly child" says Lady Kluck. "How he became the Sheriff of Nottingham is beyond me."

"Prince John appointed him, obviously" says Little John. "The spot was vacant following the real Sheriff joining our King Richard in the Crusades."

"The king...if only he was here now..." says Maid Marian.

"Oh, that reminds me" says Lady Kluck, getting their attention. "I heard just the other day that King Richard has returned and will be coming home soon, once he meets with his counterpart over in France."

"That's great news" says Robin. "Do we have any idea when?"

Lady Kluck shrugs, saying "Maybe a few days or a week. Maybe a little longer. But at least he has returned and soon, his brother and his oppressive regime will have been ended."

"I can't wait that long" says Roxas suddenly, standing. "The longer I leave the heart gem unclaimed, the greater the chance the Thoughtless could get their hands on it. And if that happens, then I'll never be able to help Kairi."

"I had a feeling you'd say that, son" says Robin, walking up to him. He then places a hand on Roxas shoulder, adding "That's why we'll end this all today...well, tonight that is."

"Wait Robin, you mean we're...?" asked Little John, getting a nod from Robin.

"Yeah, we'll have to go with our last resort option here" says Robin.

"What's the last resort option?" asked Maid Marian.

"In case the Prince's actions become to severe to be allowed to continue, me and Little John would sneak into the castle and take him hostage if we can" says Robin.

"Basically, we'll take control of the kingdom ourselves till King Richard returns" adds Little John.

"That's brave of you boys, but such an act would be seen as high treason and the people..." Lady Kluck then stops, realizing what she was implying. "Actually, the people would be all for that and I'm sure the King would pardon you both once he learns why you two did this."

"But we'd still have to worry about the Sheriff and the soldiers. Even if it turns out they all hate the Prince and doing his dirty work, they'll still come after us as they are honor bound to protect Prince John, no matter how much of a creep he is" says Friar Tuck, pointing out an important fact.

"They haven't found us yet and it's not like we'll need to stay hidden for months here, gang. We'll be fine" says Robin.

"You guys would do this for me? Take such a risk for me? Thank you" says Roxas.

"No need for thanks, lad. This was something we knew would likely need to happen eventually anyways. Your plight has just given us the needed incentive to go with this plan" says Robin before walking over to the table and pulling out a map of the castle grounds. The others join him as they all look over the map.

"OK my friends, this is how we need to proceed..."

**(that night, Nottingham Castle)**

It was well into the night when Robin, Little John, and Roxas arrived in Nottingham. The plan to get inside the castle, kidnap Prince John, then sneak back out to hide him away somewhere seemed easy enough in the saying, but they all knew that the doing would be far more challenging.

"Is it just me or does it feel colder than usual for this time of year?" asked Little John, shivering a bit. "Like some sort of dark, ominous, foreboding wind fills the air around us."

"It's not just you" says Roxas, already having a hand ready to bring his weapon out to the ready. He then notices there were no lights to be seen nor people around either. "Where is everyone?"

"Probably in bed" says Little John. "It is past midnight after all."

"I don't think so" says Robin, walking up to an unlit street torch. "True that many would be home asleep now but there are always a few late nights owls out and about to be seen. Also, none of the village torch lights have been lit yet. That's just not something that happens unless something has happened here. At present, all we have to guide us is the moonlight."

Little John runs over to the nearest building and takes a quick peek inside, seeing nothing but empty beds. "I think you may be right. Something is going on here?" A thought then crosses his mind. "You don't think that Prince John..."

"Had the Sheriff arrest everyone after what happened today during the tournament? I wouldn't put it past him" says Robin. "Anything to lure us out after all..."

"Guys" yells Roxas as Thoughtless suddenly appear. "We have company."

Could the Thoughtless have something to do with this turn of events too? Now becoming more worried, the group quickly dispatch their foes then break into a mad run for the castle, fearing something bad may be happening or is about to. Along the way, they fight several more waves of Thoughtless before finally arriving, shocked to find the main gate opened for them. Now cautious, they proceed slowly inside till they had reached the main courtyard of the castle.

"OK, now we can be sure there's trouble afoot" says Little John. "Where are all the guards?"

"They would have jumped us by now, that's for sure" said Robin in agreement.

As they look around, Roxas picks up a faint moaning sounding, making him call back to the others while moving to the source of the moan; the Sheriff who was hiding himself behind a cart and a haystack, looking like he had been mauled by some sort of wild beast. Kneeling down, Roxas can tell his injuries were bad, but not fatal. "Hey, are you OK? What happened?"

Robin and Little John reach them as the Sheriff opens his eyes just a bit. He grins just a tiny bit as he says "I can't believe...I'm saying this...but it's..._groan_...good to see you guys..."

"What happened?" asked Robin.

"Prince John, he...something happened to him. He started making these weird demands...then those things appeared and attacked...captured all the town folk...He claims they all belong to him...I...just barely managed to esca..." The Sheriff's eyes roll back into his head as he passes out again.

"We better find Prince John" says Robin just as more Thoughtless appear behind them, making him pull his bow out. The gates also close tight, locking them inside and making an easy retreat impossible.

"After we take care of these guys, obviously" adds Little John as he makes the first move with Roxas right behind him while Robin takes them out from afar with his arrows. After going through three waves worth, then enemies stop appearing.

"OK, where do we go?" asked Roxas.

Before Robin or Little John can answer, a door into the castle opens and Prince John emerges, purple colored smoke flowing around and a vacant look in his eyes. "Mine, everything is mine. All mine and mine alone" he says, his voice sounding hollowed and auto-tuned.

"Prince John, what have you done the the villagers and the castle staff and guards?" asked Robin.

"All belong to me and shall be kept close where I can keep watch over them. Even all of you belong to me...me, all to me..."

"Man, I think he may have finally lost it" says Little John.

"No, that's not it" comes Know-it-all. "He's been possessed by a Potent."

"A what?" asked Roxas.

"Thoughtless have several levels of being; the Minor's or low ranked negative thoughts and the Potent which are the more severe and dark thoughts. Potent are rare to see come around but are very dangerous" says Know-it-all.

"You've been bewitched" yells Robin. "None of them are yours. You..."

Something dark shines out from Prince John's eyes at hearing that, making him scowl as the smoke becomes more intense. "No, everything belongs to me. Everything and all things. All mine..." And then the Thoughtless symbol appears on his head. "All mine, mine, mine, MINE, **MINE!**" He screams the last part out, making the smoke explode around him and consume him.

The group back away as something takes shape within the smoke which needs only a moment to reveal itself. It has long legs and arms, the hands also being big with razor like claws. It's face was very angular and pointy with a crown like growth at the top. And it had a massive mane which reached down its body enough to look like a cloak that covered its body.

"Oh no, this is by far the worst kind of Potent" comes Know-it-all. "This is one of the seven darkest Potent, born from what is known as a deadly sin. In this case, from greed and avarice..."

"Hoarder King."

The eyes of Hoarder King come to life as it comes at them quickly, swinging its long arms at them with a speed that leaves visible stream of air from behind. They just barely clear being hit. Robin quickly begins letting loose arrow after arrow while Roxas and Little John go for its legs, hoping to slow it's movement down to some degree.

"Be careful" says Know-it-all. "If it hits you when it's claws are glowing, you'll be trapped within a sphere which can sap you of your strength which it uses to heal itself."

"Say what..." shouts Little John, being momentarily distracted which allows Hoarder King to hit him with a glowing claw, trapping him inside said sphere.

"Little John, we'll get you out" yells Robin.

"Brat, a strong enough hit can burst the sphere" comes Know-it-all.

"On it" says Roxas, running forward and smashing the sphere with his Chainsaw Blade before Hoarder King can absorb it. "You good?"

"Yeah, thanks for the save, kid" says Little John. "Now we just need to find a way to take this guy..."

"I have one" says Robin, running over to them. "Me and Little John will stay here to distract that thing while you jump up onto the balcony there on the tower. Once there, we'll push it back somehow so you can then jump down with a strike to its back, either defeating it or hurting it enough to allow us a chance to finish it off for good."

"Wait, you mean jump up there?" asked Roxas, seeing just how high up the balcony was. "That's crazy. I can't...I can't jump that high."

"Why not?" asked Little John. "You're a rabbit, right? Aren't you guys suppose to be the best jumpers in all of England?"

"Rabbit?" asked Roxas, then recalling he had been turned into a rabbit when he came here. He then looks down at his feet, realizing he had never even given that any thought since arriving; that he could have some super jumping skills now. "Right, forgot about that little detail. Heat of the moment ans all that. I can do it." He then breaks away, running toward the balcony. Hoarder King turns to follow but Robin and Little John are quick to get him back to looking at them again.

Now beneath the balcony, Roxas closes his eyes while preparing to make the jump up. He allows thoughts to Kairi to fill his mind to give him the extra motivation needed to succeed here. And then he jumps...really, really, high; easily making it past the balcony and just barely grabbing the guard rail as he falls back towards the ground. After a moment, he pulls himself up over the rail.

"I can't believe I really did it" he says to himself, feeling a surge of adrenalin from the exhilarating feeling he was now having. "OK guys, I'm good" he yells down to them.

The nod as Robin pulls out one of his last arrows and sends it flying into one of the Hoarder King's knees, causing it to stumble which allows Little John to then charge forward and tackle it, knocking the Thoughtless back within range of Roxas. "Now kid" they both yell to Roxas.

Roxas nods as he leaps over the guard rail, falling towards the ground fast. He brings the Chainsaw Blade up and over himself as he gets within range of the Hoarder King. "For the people of Nottingham he yells as he sends his weapons slashing down hard.

Hoarder King goes rigid as the attack connects with its back while Robin fires his last arrow, landing a hit right between its eyes and Little John punching it in the stomach with all his might. These three attacks were more than it could take as the dark light in its eyes fades and it falls onto the ground, the impact making a slight tremor. After a moment, the Hoarder King vaporizes, leaving the unconscious form of Prince John behind.

"Now that's a pox on the false king of England" says Little John.

"Oo-de-lally" said Robin in agreement. They then walk up to Prince John to examine him.

"Think we should tie his arms and legs up? Keep him restrained once he wakes up" asked Little John.

"That may not be necessary" comes the voice of Know-it-all.

"How come?" asked Roxas.

"His greed led him to being possessed by a Potent, the dangerous type of Thoughtless. That isn't something you just shake off if you're freed. He may recover in time, but its gonna take a long time before that happens. In any event, its gonna be a while before he wakes up and when he does, I doubt he'll be in any condition physically or mentally to try anything for a good while yet" says Know-it-all.

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about him doing anything more before King Richard returns" says Robin, turning Prince John over onto his back. He then feels him up, finding a pair of keys which he hands to Little John. "These should be the keys to the prison. We can release the townsfolk now."

He then continues, reaching in beneath the collar and pulling out the glowing pendant Prince John was wearing. "Was this what you were looking for, Roxas?" he asked, unable to stop himself from touching it. "Wow, it really does feel warm and soothing to the touch. I can understand why he'd keep this one close." He then tosses it to Roxas.

Catching it in his hands, the gem begins to glow brighter till it felt like they were being bathed by the warmth of the sun itself. Roxas could feel it responding to him, making him smile. "I finally found you, Kairi. Sorry for taking so long." After a moment, the light dims till it had faded from the gem, making Roxas slide it into the pouch alongside Know-it-all.

"Man, we need to have ourselves a party once we get everyone out of the prison" says Little John.

"You're invited to join us, my friend" adds Robin, holding a hand out to Roxas.

Roxas shakes his head, saying "Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to decline for now. My journey has only just started and I need to hurry before any of the other lights are found by those Thoughtless."

"I understand. But once your mission is over and you've helped that girl of yours, you should return and we'll have ourselves the biggest party ever to be seen here in England. Plus, I'm sure King Richard will want to meet and thank you for your efforts in saving the kingdom as well" says Robin.

"And bring that girl of your with you" adds Little John. "I'm sure she'd have fun as well."

Roxas nods, saying "Count on it. Well, until then..." He turns and uses his newly realized jumping skills to hop over the main wall, heading back to the spot he had arrived at.

As he nears the spot, a realization hits him, making him stop. "Wait, just how am I going to get back anyways?"

"Leave that to me" comes Know-it-all as the gem on its cover light up, making a gate appear before them. "Now then...home Jeeves..."

Roxas laughs as he steps forward. "Since when did I become YOUR butler?" He steps into the portal, once again finding himself within the prism like space before reemerging within the gate chamber of the old temple. Taking a moment to look at his hands, he finds them looking like they were suppose to. He then runs up to the pool Kairi was resting in, seeing his reflection and sighing. "Back to normal."

He then steps forward and kneels down besides Kairi, pulling the gem out from the bag. "I did it, Kairi. I got a piece of your light back...so what do I do now?"

"Just leave it with her and she'll do the rest...I think" comes Know-it-all.

"You think? But aren't you the great Know-it-all who knows all?" asked Roxas.

"Yeah, about that..." Know-it-all chuckles nervously. "Maybe that may have been a bit of an exaggeration on my part. But hey, one does what one can."

"That's fine" says Roxas, allowing himself a moment to keep his eyes on her before standing and looking around. "Man I'm tired. Doubt the floor offer any comfort though." He decides to head outside to gather something he could use as a bed so he could stay close to her should anything happen. Once he was outside, he noticed the calmness in the air and that the sun appeared to be setting.

"Looks like things have calmed down since we left" he says, getting Know-it-all to say "I can't detect any Thoughtless energies in the air so we're likely in the clear for now."

"How long do you think we were gone for? The sun's setting here yet it was almost morning when we left Nottingham" asked Roxas.

"Time will flow differently for us on the opposite side of the portals. If my guess is correct, only a day will pass here for ever trip beyond the portals...though I could be wrong" admits Know-it-all.

Understanding, Roxas goes about gathering some palm tree leaves which he takes back into the temple and lays them on the ground, next to the pool. He then goes to grab some food and eats before laying down. While not comfortable, it was OK enough to allow sleep. As his eyelids close, he can't help but wonder what tomorrow would bring...

**to be continued...**

**Myzer Files:**

"Things are going rather well as far as the plan goes. The man who goes by the name DiZ has chosen to use my program where the boy in concerned in his desire to restore young Sora to full health so he can use him for his personal revenge against Organization XIII. More specifically, against his former apprentice; Xehanort."

"Not that I care as I have my eyes on the bigger prize, the boy himself. His existence is of great interest to me and the hidden protocols I placed into the virtual world should help me unravel the secrets behind them. Funny, DiZ thinks him a Nobody. Heh, if only he knew..."

"One thing that I wasn't expecting was the inclusion of Kairi within my program. DiZ suspects she was created by my program to act as motivation for the boy, mainly because I said as much as far as possibilities go. But there was another possibility I neglected to mention as it being known or at least assumed could cause trouble. Naturally, I went to check on this thought I had as soon as a left."

"And I was right."

"Going to Destiny Island and, as I suspected, the girl named Kairi had gone missing and a frantic search was being conducted for her. Not that they would find her of course as she was no longer on that world. Somehow, someway, she had been pulled from the island to the data island in order to play the role of the boy's motivation. Her memories had also been altered to make her conform with the program."

"I'll need to keep this a secret from DiZ and that poor fool, Riku, or risk them interfering with my plans. But this does bring up an interesting question. Just why was she, Kairi, pulled into the program when it wasn't even being done on the same world? Had the boy and her come into contact with each other during his time with the Organization? My notes do say he visited the islands on several occasions; sometimes alone and sometimes with the ones named Axel and Xion. Perhaps he and her met and formed some sort of connection. Or maybe it was...regardless, I will need to look into this matter further as the answer could be useful in aiding me find the answer to the big question I want to have answered about this boy named..._static_

**AN: **In the last chapter, I mentioned that this story was conceived as a "what if the Roxas segment in KH2 had ended up as its own stand alone game instead of being just a simple tutorial". Now, I will further explain how it would have been in my mind.

-Castaway's Sanctuary would be the Hub World for the game, being a fully opened area ripe for exploration. There would be certain areas only accessible for visiting once certain special abilities had been gained, like High Jump or Glide

-Generally enemy free, there would be chances of rare enemies appearing on the island, usually in the secret spots, that would have a better chance of dropping many of the rarer item drops and even some that could only be found here. Also the only place to encounter the special colored version of enemies.

-After completing the first world of your choice, Mo ogles would appear on the island (noted via a cut scene) and they would set up shop at Roxas and Kairi's camp ground. From them, you could purchase items, armor, weapon upgrades. There would also be a synthesis shop and the lead Toggle, Mo (from FFVI) would offer you a training option to better learn how to use new skills and magics.

-After beating the second or third world, a new gate would appear within the gate room, leading to Olympus Coliseum, the only world to return from other games. Here, you can go through several different tournaments in order to win the title Junior Hero. Not part of the main game, but optional.

-Hidden super bosses would also make a comeback here, four total. Three would appear as extra special options within the Coliseum and the last would appear in the final secret area accessible on the island. More about them will be revealed in future chapters as I finalize them.

-Both on the island and in the various world's, Roxas can find special icons hidden away that resemble the Mickey Mouse icon (which itself would be a old style movie projector in the Mickey Mouse icon shape) which will unlock the Secret Video Reports and other such things (like the Myzer video files) that can be view in the Extras Theater Mode viewer after beating the main game.

-After beating the game once on any difficulty, you can begin a New Game+ with several special options to choose from, like Roxas having his full abilities and Keyblade wielding skills present from the get go, different outfits and color variations, and even the option to play as Kairi with her own unique move pool (though the story would remain unchanged in the cut scenes).

-In the Robin Hood world, several things would be earned. After defeating the Sure Shot's at the tournament grounds, Roxas would learn his first magic spell; Fire Arrow. After beating the boss, Hoarder King, he would gain the High Jump ability and a keychain which, if attached to the Chainsaw Blade, would increase the drop percentage of enemies.

-After Roxas regains the ability to wield the Keyblade in a later chapter, the Robin Hood worlds keychain would allow Roxas to wield the King of Thieves Keyblade, a short weapon with the special ability to increase the chances of rare drops happening when enemies are defeated.

I'll reveal more in future chapters. Let me know if you like these ideas or if you have any suggestions yourself that I may like but have yet to think of myself based on things from previous games.

**AN2:** This AN is simply to alert my readers of changes made in the last chapter, chapter 1, which have been continued in this chapter and shall remain in all future chapters of XHearts.

-I went back and streamlined the read, keeping the main story solely focused on the Roxas and Kairi story while moving the DiZ, Riku, and Myzer stuff down to the bottom, labeling them as Secret Video Reports. This chapter's Myzer Files also reflect this change.

-The character Ektor von Bawk has been changed to Myzer, the mystery villain from my Realm Hearts series (who first appeared in chapter 25; the one who sent Ventus to the world based on Frozen). This change was simply one of necessity as I felt he would be a better choice as it would better explain him as his Realm Hearts counter part won't be seen that often for quite a bit yet to come.

-I have included a song written by Hikaru Utada at the beginning as I felt that, as this is a Kingdom Hearts fic (one imagined to be a could have been basis for its own game in another lifetime), it needed one as a KH story without Utada wouldn't feel like KH. The song chosen is called **Flavor of Life**, which you can go back and read and/or you can go onto Youtube and hear it (both sung in English and Japanese by Utada).

-Last chapter has also seen the inclusion of a quote, much like this chapter has at the very beginning. Why I'm doing these quotes or were they come from, I can't say except they feel right for some reason.

Hope you'll go back and check them out and feel it was the right choice of me to do. Till next chapter...


	3. Bare Necessities

**"**_**I can lose myself in the sea that is your eyes"** - _Kairi

**XHearts**

**chpt.3: Bare Necessities**

Everything was blurry to him as his eyes opened. He found himself on wooden planks suspended high off the ground. Looking around, Roxas realized he was on an island, but one that was not Castaway's Sanctuary.

"Where am I?" he wondered, noticing hand grips off to the side for ladder usage. He takes a step, planning on looking around when he hears a girl scream. A moment later, his eyes locate the girl as she comes running into view.

"Kairi" he says, recognizing her immediately. He then sees what was chasing her. "The Thoughtless? Hold on, I'm coming." He jumps down to the ground without hesitation, his landing makes him stumble for the first few steps. He then runs towards here while reaching for his weapon but finding it missing. Despite this, he continues towards her and the Shade before lunging at the lead Shade. He hoped that by tackling it, he would turn their full attention onto him.

That didn't work out as planned though as he pass's through the Shade like it wasn't even there. Well, because he wasn't there as he lands in the water but finds himself neither making a splash or becoming soaked. "What...?" he says, looking at his hands and finding them all see through like he was a ghost, Now he was really confused before hearing Kairi's voice yelling at the Shade to leave her alone. Looking towards her, he finds her being backed against a wall as the Shade move in for the kill...or what ever it was they had planned for her.

Three of them leap at her, making her cry out as she closes her eyes. He yells out her name while running towards her even though he knew he couldn't do anything to help. And then the black coat wearing figure appeared, leaping down from above with a giant key in hand, slicing down the three Shade with ease. Realizing something had happened, Kairi opens her eyes and watches as her savior quickly takes out the remaining Shade.

"_What were those things? They didn't look like Heartless..."_ _says the hooded figure before recalling the girl he had just saved, making him look back at her. "Are you OK?" he asked._

"_Yeah...I'm fine" says Kairi, wondering who it was that had saved her. "Thank you for saving me. Um...who are you. You sound...familiar somehow..."_

"_Me?" comes the hooded figure, looking away. "I'm...I'm Nobody important." He then recalls being told by the others to avoid any direct contact with any locals unless is was an absolute necessity and even then, only as long as it was needed. "Sorry, I have to be going." He then begins to walk away._

"_Wait..." calls out Kairi, running to him and grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to turn back towards her. "I need to know." She then reaches up and pulls his hood back, revealing his face. Seeing him makes her step back while gasping, like she had just seen a ghost._

"Wait, that's me?" comes ghost Roxas.

"_I..." Roxas hesitates a moment more before deciding that he might as well tell her his name. What_ _harm could it do now? "My name is Rox..."_

"_Roxas" says Kairi suddenly, making him blink in surprise._

"_How...how did you know my name?" he asked._

"_I don't know, I just saw your face and your name just popped into my mind. I know you but I don't know where from" says Kairi. She then realizes she hadn't even introduced herself to him so she steps back a few steps. "Since I know your name, you should know mine as well. I'm..."_

"_Kairi" says Roxas, making her blink in surprise. "I guess I know you from somewhere too."_

"_I wonder how?" says Kairi before realizing something that makes her giggle. "You know, we both seem to have the same bad habits."_

"_Come again?" asked Roxas._

"_We both have bad habits of interrupting each other" she says, talking about how they had both interrupted each other during their name introductions._

"_Seriously?" he asked, then understanding what she meant. "Maybe we do..." he says, laughing a little which makes her laugh as well._

"Just what is this?" asked ghost Roxas as his black coat wearing counterpart and the Kairi here continued to talk. "Wait, could this be...?" And then this dream came to an end...

He wakes up, finding the stone ceiling of the hidden chamber above him. He groans as he sits up, a hand coming to rest over an eye and his forehead. "That was..." He doesn't finish as he turns to look at Kairi's sleeping form, seeing that she appeared to still be safe though unchanged. Then he notices that the gem he had retrieved the day before was missing.

Getting up, he moves over to Kairi's side, kneeling down beside her. "Her gem...its gone?" Had she absorbed it into herself, reclaiming the fragment of her heart? "Hey, Know-it-all. Will Kairi take her heart fragments back into herself once we hand them off to her?"

He didn't get a response beside the sounding of snoring coming from the tome which was still laying back on his make shift bed. He sighs while shaking his head. But, despite that, he was sure it was OK. Looking back at Kairi again, he places a hand over the spot he had placed the gem.

"What do you think, Kairi?"

He got a response, though not one he was expecting. Not from Kairi anyways. Instead, he hears a fluttering sound in the air, quickly making him stand and go on the defensive; his eyes scanning the room carefully. There wasn't many spots inside the room to hide in but he knew something was in here with them. _OK, now where are..._

He sensed movement right above him and he reacts instantly; his arms shooting upwards and his hands finding something soft and furry to grab onto him. He hears a surprised squeak as he lowers his arms down, allowing him to better see what it was he had just caught.

"Ah, let me go. Let me go" cries the weird looking creature, it's voice sounding female.

"Wha...what are...?"

He didn't get to finish as he just catches a blur of movement from the entrance of the room. He then feels something sweeping his legs out from under him, sending him falling back onto the ground which causes him to lose his grip on the strange creature, allowing it to escape. While this had caught him off guard and left him stunned, he recovers quickly and gets back onto his feet only to see something odd.

"Thank you, Mog. I thought I was a goner and...OW" cries the female creature as the other, similar, creature smacks her head hard with a large lance like weapon it was holding.

"You dummy" yells the creature called Mog by the female. "I told you not to go snooping around and scaring the sleeping kid. You're lucky I got here when I did or he may have eaten you all up."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" yells Roxas, getting their attention. "What are you guys? And what do you mean by eat her?"

"SHUT IT, SLACKEY" yells Mog. "I'll deal with you in a moment."

That moment comes soon enough as Mog finally calms down. "Anyways, I guess it's time for introductions." He then looks back at the door and yells out "FRONT AND CENTER YOU FOOLS."

Four more of the creatures come flying in to join them, making Roxas step back in surprise. "What's going on? Just who...or what, are you guys?"

"We're Moogles of course, slackey" comes Mog before his wings lift him into the air with some difficulty. "What, you never seen our kind before?"

"I don't think so...but...you look different than the others...um..."

"Call me Mog, slackey" says Mog before looking back at the others. "And of course I look different than they do. I'm a Moogle of Gaia and they're Moogles of Ivalice. We're all Moogles who come in different shapes and sizes depending on where we come from."

Roxas studies them closely. Mog looked like a teddy bear with white fur, a yellow ball on his head with a pink nose and his eyes seemed to be always closed. His small wings seemed to be having trouble in keeping him in the air. The others were slightly smaller in size and in frame with large ears, wings, and their eyes were opens and cat like.

"Mog the Moogle and his friends. Got it memorized" said Roxas. "But where did you guys come from?"

"Not from here, that's for sure" says Mog, landing on the ground. "The other day, some weird guy called Ansem appears and tells us our skills are needed. He gave us a quick run down on what was going on then sent us here to help. We arrived just after you fell into sleepy time and have spent the last few hours looking around this old dump."

Mog then walks over to the others and says "Now, let me introduce you to my team."

"First, we have Gumo Moogle. He'll be running an armor and accessory shop. Next, we have Mosh Moogle who will sell you items should you need them. Monette here will handle any and all magic based items and spells you may find yourself needing. And finally, we have Noggy Moogle and Kurpi Moogle who together work the forge of a synthesis shop. Speak to any one of them should you be in need of anything."

"OK, I see. Thank you then" says Roxas. "Nice to meet you all. Um...what about you, Mog?"

"Me? Well I can help you train, slackey. With me, I can help you hone your skills though don't expect me to take it easy on you even if it is training" says Mog."Now, where can we set up our shops at?"

Roxas notes the question wasn't directed at him but Mog simply speaking his thoughts aloud. The other Moogles just look at each other and talk about how difficult it would be to make shops here inside the temple. Roxas also thinks about it and comes up with an idea.

"Say, you guys can use the grounds me and Kairi use as out little camp" offers Roxas. "It's not like we need it at the moment and since you're helping us out, we'd be glad to offer our home to you guys."

"Well, its worth a look" says Mog. "Where is it?" Roxas gives him the direction. With that, Mog sends the others off to get their shops set up.

"Well, I better get going then" says Roxas.

"Before you go..." says Mog, getting his attention. "What's your name, slackey? You never gave it up before when I did the introductions."

"Oh, right" says Roxas, chuckling nervously. "I'm Roxas."

"Roxas? Where have I heard that name before?" wonders Mog before waving his hand. "Never mind that, you have a girl to save. SO STOP SLACKING OFF, SLACKEY." Mog then zips out of the room to join the others.

"They seem nice...I think..." says Roxas before turning around and walking back over to his bed. He straps his Chainsaw Sword to his back then slings Know-it-all's holding bag over his shoulder before walking over to the two star door.

"YAWN. So, anything interesting happen while I was asleep?" comes Know-it-all, finally waking up.

"You could say that..." comes Roxas as he steps into the portal.

**(beyond the two star door)**

The dense foliage within the jungle's northern edges were shifted ever so slightly as the feared man eater, Shere Khan, carefully looked out at the stream of water just ahead of him. There, playing around on the opposite side of the river, were several kids from a nearby man-village.

And at least one of them would become his meal for the day. The question though was which one would it be? There was a thin looking boy though he didn't look especially healthy. Then there was the female man-child though she appeared to be fast while another female man-child looked much to small to make a decent meal for him. That just left a plump looking boy who had more than enough meat on his bones to serve as a meal. Maybe even two if handled correctly.

He was patient, waiting and watching, stalking his prey with care like he always did as that was what made him stand out from the other hunters out there. He didn't need to wait long as his chosen target, unaware of the fact he was being stalked, ran over to the opposite side of the river, challenging the others to come over to him if they dared.

"Now then, for an early lunch" comes the tiger as he prepares to leap out and take his prey before he would even know his killer was there. But the attack doesn't come as several men suddenly come running down to the lake, armed with their guns. They yell at the kids, demanding to know why they ignored the order to stay within the village before escorting them back while keeping their guns at the ready.

Shere Khan growls angrily, his claws scraping against the ground before turning away and heading back into the deeper recesses of the jungle. He would have to hunt down some lower grade meal now. Perhaps tonight, well after sun down, he would come back and try for his favorite meal as there was always someone out and about in the dark, making themselves easy prey for him.

He then feels something in the air, making him look around and spotting a streaking light falling into the jungle not to far from him. "I wonder what that could be?" he says, already moving towards it but is stopped the sound of close by foliage being shifted by something sends him on alert.

"Has the hunter become the hunted?" He chuckles at the thought, already turning towards the source of the potential enemy. "How quaint..."

Elsewhere within the jungle, the falling light reaches the ground, bursting with its radiance and reforming into Roxas. He looks around, taking in his environment, then looks at his hands and finding relief in the fact he appeared to still be fully human, not some sort of hybrid man-animal like in the last world.

"So, I guess we'll be trekking through another forest" he says before wiping his arm over his brow. "Sure is hotter out here though."

"You mean more humid than hot, brat" comes Know-it-all. "Also, this isn't a forest but a full on jungle we find ourselves in now. Be on guard for man eating beasts. And, of course..."

Before Know-it-all could finish, the air around them distorts followed by six strange looking monkey like creatures appearing. "Beware of Thoughtless things" adds Roxas, noting these new ones were the strangest yet to be seen.

They appeared to be monkey like though larger in size, with their bodies round like a bongo. Their arms were short and the hands lacking fingers. Their legs were long but ended with trumpets over feet and their tails resembled a saxophone. Their heads sported some cool looking shades while their large ears looked like speakers. The new Thoughtless then begin to beat their bongo bodies with their fingerless hands, making musical notes physically appear from their ears and tails while the ground beneath their feet began to quake.

"So, any idea about these guys?" he asked, not sure on how he should attack them.

"Hm, let me see" comes Know-it-all. "They're called Bongo Beatz. They use musical rhythm to launch their attacks by beating their bellies. The attack can come from any direction, including tremors on the ground. Best method to beating them is attacking from behind as frontal assaults will hurt you as much as them."

"Back attacks it is then" says Roxas, already running at them, managing to slide past one and land a strike. He took him a few minutes to clear them all as two more waves appeared, but they weren't to difficult one he got the pattern of their attacks down.

"That wasn't so bad" says Roxas as he places his weapon back into its holder.

"Don't let your guard down though. The longer any one of them remains out on the field, the stronger their beat becomes which makes the damage they can cause stronger too" warns Know-it-all.

"Gotcha. So, any idea where we should look for Kairi's light at?" asked Roxas.

"I'm picking it up...but..."

"Get away" yells out someone nearby, bringing Roxas back into being battle ready.

"Figs, someone's in trouble." Though Know-it-all tries to advice him not to go getting involved in everything that comes yelling for help, Roxas decides to run to the aid of the person in trouble.

After a few moments, Roxas spots something yellow in color bouncing around all over the place with odd, monkey like creatures trying hard to catch up to it. Suddenly, one of the monkey creatures blast out musical notes from its ears which manage to hit the bouncing thing, causing it to lose control of itself and crash onto the ground.

The bouncing thing turned out to be a small bear like creature with yellow colored fur, dressed in garments not unlike those he had seen being worn by Robin and Little John. He could also tell this bear was female from the sound of her voice as she pulled herself up from her fall. Chasing after her were eight Bongo Beatz.

The lead Bongo Beatz moves towards the female bear while beating its drum body faster and harder, making larger musical notes appear now. The female bear tries to reach for something in her pockets but fear makes her hands to agitated to grab whatever it was she was reaching for.

"No, stay back..." she cries.

The Bongo Beatz jump at her, but the lead gets taken out by a downward slash from Roxas as he comes jumping in. "Find someplace to hide. I got this" he tells her before going after the others.

It didn't take long to defeat them, though Roxas did find out first hand how frontal attacks could be bad for him as the notes created from such an act would hit him like a sudden and powerful sound wave blast which would make his ears ring and his equilibrium become wonky. Actually, being hit by the notes could do this though not nearly as bad as those frontal strikes. Once he was done, he allowed himself a moment to catch his breath.

"Man, that was noisy" he said with a chuckle. He then looks back and says "So, are you...OK, where did she go?" The female bear had apparently taken his advice and found herself someplace to hide or, from the looks of it, had made a run for it.

"Gee, not even a thank you for saving her fanny either" grumbles Know-it-all.

"Can't be helped. Still, her clothing...could we be back in Sherwood Forest again?" wondered Roxas.

"I doubt it seeing as this isn't a forest, remember?...Roxas, I'm detecting more Thoughtless to your left. Maybe other locals are being attacked as well."

"Gotcha" says Roxas, already running in the direction of the battle. As he runs from the area, the female bear's head pops out from the foliage, watching as he disappears from sight.

"That was...Roxas?"

As he ran through the jungle, more Bongo Beatz appeared, trying to take him down along with various Shade's, though Roxas was able to quickly take them out while keeping up his pace, sliding under exposed tree roots and jumping over gaps in the ground. Soon, caught sight of more locals being attacked by the Thoughtless. One was a bear with gray colored fur and the other was some sort of jungle cat, a panther he guessed. The Thoughtless, on the other hand, were yet another new breed.

"Man, these guys sure have one heck of a way of introducing themselves, huh Baggy?" said the bear.

"There even more of a bother than those annoying parrots that made home here recently" said the panther as he and the bear attempted to fight back against these airborne Thoughtless but the creatures moved to fast for them to have much success in combating them.

"I have to help them" says Roxas, leaping from the high hill, sliding down the dirt while readying his blade.

"Roxas, you'll need to be extra fast if you want to land a hit on those Peckish Drillbird's" comes Know-it-all. "They can move fast in all directions thanks to their hummingbird like wings. They can shoot forward like a bullet suddenly thanks to their missile like bodies for thrust based attacks that are made even more dangerous due to their beaks being drills. They can sap your strength if they hit you."

"Right..." says Roxas as he pushes off from the slope, taking one of the Drillbird's out with one swing. "You two alright?" he asked.

"What?" comes the bear.

"You...you're a man-cub" comes the panther. "What are you doing here?"

"How about we deal with these Thoughtless first" says Roxas as the remaining Peckish Drillbird's begin their attack.

The battle wasn't won quickly due to their speed and their small sizes making them tough to hit. Add the appearance of several Bongo Beatz and Hulky Bulky's making things even more saucy for them kept the battle heated till, at last, the enemy finally stopped appearing.

"Man, they just get tougher and tougher" says Roxas, returning his blade to hanging off his back.

"That just means you'll need to toughen up as well if you hope to wing back Kairi's light" says Know-it-all.

"Yeah, I know. Anyways, are you guys...?" Roxas didn't get to finish as, while turning to look at the bear and panther, he finds the bear picking him up and looking him him curiously.

"Are you sure he's a man-cub, Baggy? He doesn't look anything like Mowgli or the others from that village" says the bear.

"Of course he's a man-cub, Baloo. His skin and hair are just of a different color is all. Now put him down unless you want him to think you're gonna eat him" says the panther.

"What do I look like, Shere Khan? I don't eat meat, you know that" says the bear while placing Roxas back on the ground. "Anyway, sorry about that, little britches. We just don't get many of your kind around here, especially ones that look like you do."

"That's fine. I'm Roxas by the way."

"Roxy, huh? Fun sounding name there to be sure, little britches. I'm Baloo and this hers is Baggy..."

"Bagheera" says the panther. "We thank you for your help before against those strange beast. Ever since they first appeared here the other day, the whole of the jungle has been in an uproar."

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about them, would ya?" asked Baloo, getting a surprised look from Bagheera. "He did call those things...um...Fozzies...Foofells...no, what was it...?"

"Thoughtless" says Roxas, making Baloo say "Yeah, that's the word."

"Is that true? You really do know about them?" asked Bagheera, getting a nod from Roxas. "Please, man-cub, will you tell us about them. And you; what has brought you into our jungle?"

"It's...complicated" admits Roxas. "It would take a while for me to explain so I'll be quick and to the point. I'm on a quest to find a gemstone that shines with a radiant and soothing light; a light that was stolen from someone precious to me and I need to return it to her as soon as possible. Those Thoughtless are creatures born from dark thoughts of men that also seek the gem though I know not why. Have either of you seen such a sight by any chance?"

Baloo and Bagheera look at each other, then back at Roxas and shake their heads. "Sorry, little britches. Something like that doesn't ring any bells."

"You should return home for now, man-cub. This jungle has become to dangerous for one such as you to stay, even though you are skilled at protecting yourself. Besides those Thoughtless, there is also Shere Khan. He has been sighted in these parts again as of late."

"Who's Shere Khan?" asked Roxas.

"A tiger, little britches. A dangerous one at that for he's a man eater" says Baloo.

"A man eater...Sorry, I can't turn around and go home. Not until I've found the gem" says Roxas. Bagheera begins to argue, but Roxas stops him and adds "Also, if I can find the gem and leave with it, then the Thoughtless should also stop appearing here as it's the only reason they've even come here. If I can't find it before they do, something far worse will happen to your jungle."

"I hate to think what" says Baloo.

Bagheera thinks on this, then sighs. "I still think you should return home till Shere Khan leaves these parts but I can tell you won't. So I'll do everything in my power to help you find this gem as soon as possible."

"You can count on me too" comes Baloo.

"Thank you, both of you" says Roxas.

"Question now is where should we even start looking for it?" wondered Baloo aloud.

"Maybe I can help you there" comes a voice, making them all look up at a tree, seeing a red colored snake come slithering into view.

"Koda, what are you doing around here?" asked Bagheera.

"Aren't you usually glued to Kaa's side?" adds Baloo.

"Usually, yes. But I haven't seen lord Kaa these last few days, not since those things started appearing. Oh well, I'm sure he's fine...or not. Don't really care all that much to be honest..." says Koda.

"You said you can help? Does that mean you know where the gem is?" asked Roxas.

"Nope in the knowing, man-cub. But since I assume this gem was crafted by man hands, one would assume it would be in one of those old man stone ruins" says Koda.

"Wait, you aren't suggesting..." asked Baloo.

"I'd go speak with King Louie. Surely he may have seen such a thing" says Koda.

"Absolutely NOT" says Bagheera. "That fool would only care about getting his hand on the knowledge behind making man's red flower, not helping us."

"Man's red flower?" asked Roxas.

"What you call fire" says Baloo.

"Perhaps, but what choice do you have" asked Koda before slithering off, out of sight.

"Guys, where's this King Louie at?" asked Roxas.

"No, absolutely not" says Bagheera, already knowing what Roxas was thinking.

"I have to agree with Baggy" says Baloo. "Going to him will be a waste of time."

"But do we have a choice?" asked Roxas. "Like it or not, I need to meet him and see if he knows anything."

Bagheera sighs, knowing Roxas was right. "We're gonna regret this, I just know it."

"Well, we better get going then" says Baloo, taking the lead through the jungle.

As they walk, a thought pops into Roxas head. "Say, Know-it-all. How is it I can understand them and they me?" he asked in a whisper.

"Another of my talents. Auto-translation of different languages" was the reply.

After a bit of walking, Roxas caught sight of what appeared to be the old ruins though they were in a far worse state than he had expected it to be in. "Did something happen here?" asked Roxas.

"Yeah, you could say we happened here. Mowgli happened here. A little bit of this and that" says Baloo.

Bagheera sighs, saying "It's rather embarrassing in truth. It all started..."

"Stop" comes a voice from above, making them come to a halt as several monkey's come swinging down from the trees, surrounding them. "What brings you back here? That takes a lot of gall after what you did, destroying our home and stealing away OUR man-cub."

"You stole him from us first, remember?" said Baloo.

"Now now, no need for fighting" says Bagheera. "We came here to seek an audience with King Louie."

"And why would he want to see all of you?" asked one of the monkey's.

"Because this man-cub here wishes to ask him a question" says Bagheera.

"Man-cub?" says the monkey, only now noticing Roxas. "Fine...but no more funny business."

The monkey's lead them into the ruins, quickly reaching an orange colored orangutan sitting on what appeared to be a large stone chair or what was left of it. He was sitting sideways, looking towards the sky, and singing some sort of scat song to himself. The lead monkey breaks away, running up to Louie and informing him of their unexpected visitors.

"Oh, what is this you have brought to me? Looks like a new man-cub, yes indeed. An offering of peace from you I gladly accept. So tell me, man-cub, what brings you to this wreck?" says Louie in a sing song manner.

Roxas takes a step forward and ask "I came here seeking a special gemstone. One that glows with a shimmering light and feels warm when touched. Do you have anything like that around here?"

Louie scratches his head. "You seek a glowing man's shiny rock? Hm, sorry friend, but none are here but I believe I know where one can be found."

"Really? Can you tell me where, your majesty?" asked Roxas.

Louie jumps down from his throne, running up to Roxas while sticking a finger out and wags it at him. "Hold on, man-cub. An answer to your plea will only follow you doing something for me."

Bagheera sighs while shaking his head. "Oh, here it comes..."

"Man, I love that beat of his" says Baloo, making Bagheera give him an annoyed look.

"Bagheera and Baloo told me as much" says Roxas. "You want me to teach you how to make fire."

Louie claps the ground with his hands. "That's the ticket. Give me the secret to man's red flower and I'll tell you where you can find your shiny rock."

Roxas was quite, making Bagheera and Baloo wonder if he really was going to do this or not. They also worried about what Louie would do with the knowledge if he ever got it. "Alright, I'll show you how I make fire. You learning how to make it from this will all be on you, agreed?"

Roxas holds out his hand, making everyone look confused though Louie knew enough about man to understand what was expected. He shakes Roxas hand, then says "Now then, give me fire."

Roxas nods, then looks around and sees some scattered leaves on the ground nearby which he decides to use as there was no danger of setting the whole jungle ablaze by igniting it. Now turned towards it, he holds out his right hand which begins to glow with a red light.

"Blaze Arrow" yells Roxas, using the spell he had learned back in Sherwood Forest. The red light around his hand quickly shoots out from him in the form of an arrow that sails through the air, hitting the leaves and setting them ablaze. This makes everyone "ooh and aw" at the sight.

"So that's how man makes his red flower then. You have to teach me how" says Louie.

"Nope, sorry" says Roxas, turning to look at the orangutan. "The deal we agreed to was I show you how I make fire and you learning from just viewing. We never actually agreed to me teaching you."

"What do you mean, you..." Louie goes silent, realizing Roxas was indeed correct there.

Off to the side, Baloo laughs while nudging Bagheera. "Man, he actually tricked King Louie. Little britches here sure has some brains on him, huh?"

"He did at that. But will Louie tell him what he wants?" wondered Bagheera.

"Forget it" says Louie, hearing Bagheera's words. "I want to know how to make man's red flower and until I do, I won't say anything about the shiny rock and where within the other temple it's at."

"So, it's at the other temple then?" says Roxas, making Louie smack his head for that goof up. He looks at his friends and ask "So, either of you know where it is?"

Baloo simply shrugs while Bagheera says "We only know about this one. Is there really another out there, Louie?"

"That's King Louie. And yes, there is. And if you want to know where, you'll tell me what I want to know..."

"Roxas..." says Know-it-all suddenly, sensing a sudden rise in the presence of the Thoughtless.

Roxas was already in motion, bringing his blade out as he rushes at Louie. For just a moment, everyone thinks he was attacking the orangutan but Roxas action actually saves the king from being hit by an arrow shot by a Sure Shot.

"What...?" says Louie.

"Quick, find some place to hide" order's Roxas as Bongo Beatz, Peckish Drillbird's, and several more Sure Shot's appear. Louie, not needing to be told twice, quickly runs off as do his monkey friends, leaving Roxas, Bagheera, and Baloo to deal with this. After a few rounds, they emerge victorious.

"Are they gone?" asked Louie, peeking out from behind a stone wall.

"For the moment" says Roxas, looking back at him while sheathing his blade. "But until I find the gemstone, they'll just return and cause even more trouble. That's why I need to find it quickly."

Louie thinks about this while Baloo says "Oh, just tell us where the other ruin is at already. You owe Roxas here a favor anyways seeing as he did save you from getting an arrow shot into the old noggin."

Louie looks at him then at Roxas before sighing "Fine, I guess I do. Getting rid of those pest wouldn't hurt either. The ruins are to the south east of here. One of my look outs found it while scouting around in search of a new place we could make our homes in seeing as this place isn't all fit now."

"And yet you're still here" points out Bagheera.

"That's because of one little problem..." says Louie. "The ruins are in an area claimed by Shere Khan himself. The ruins may even be where he dwells. And word on the vine in something else has been seen around there. Something even more dangerous than that man eater."

"Great, that just makes this all the more difficult" says Baloo.

"Thank you for telling us" says Roxas. "Come on guys. We need to hurry..." Roxas then breaks into a run, wanting to reach the ruins soon as he feared this other entity may be a high level Thoughtless. Baloo and Bagheera follow after him.

Louie watches them go till they were out of sight, then he turns away while saying "Good luck..." to himself. He wasn't sure why, but he feared he had sent them to their doom.

"Hey, which way did you tell them to go again?" comes a voice from above, making him jump.

"Who said that?" yells Louie, getting his answer as a yellow female bear comes landing before him from above.

It was late in the afternoon before the outline of the other ruin started to come into view for Roxas and his party. By then, the sky had started to darken considerably due to storm clouds while thunder rumbled, making Roxas recall that dream with him running to the cathedral.

Bagheera looks at the sky intently, then says "This isn't a natural storm."

"You think it may be those creatures doing?" asked Baloo.

Bagheera looks at him, then at Roxas, asking "Can they do that?"

"I don't think so" says Roxas. "But one should never say never where unknowns are concerned."

After another few minutes, they notice something about the air which makes them stop. "We're being watched..." says Bagheera.

"What a surprise to find a man-cub here in my domain" comes a voice, belonging to Shere Khan, from somewhere around them, hidden within the tall grass. "On some sort of rite of passage are we? Hunting a beast to prove yourself a man now, no longer a man-cub?"

"Come out Shere Khan" yells Baloo. "He isn't here to do you harm."

"Oh, is that a fact" comes Shere Khan, followed by a hollow laugh. "I'm disappointed in the two of you, Baloo and Bagheera. I can understand you wanting to aid the other man-cub as he was raised by the wolves. But to aid a man-cub in his hunt when you yourselves could end up also being hunted by it. Truly, I am saddened..."

Bagheera yells out "That's not how it is, Khan. He is only here for..."

"Well, now it seems the hunter has become the hunted" comes the voice of Khan. "You won't be leaving here alive, hunter."

"Shere Khan, what they say is true. I'm not here to hunt you. My reason here...my sole reason here, is to find a gemstone that shines with sun like light. I was told it could be found here" says Roxas.

"And why should I believe that?" comes Shere Khan.

"I can't give you a reason to believe me" says Roxas. "But surely you are aware of the new creatures running around the jungle as of late?"

"...I have seen some curious things these last few days. Strange beings not of these jungles."

"They also seek that which I do. If I can claim the gem and take it away from here, then they'll leave and never return. But if it remains, then more of them will come and soon, these jungles will become overrun by them and none will be safe. Not even you" says Roxas.

"Well, since you put it that way..." comes Shere Khan. There is silence for a few moments before the grass behind Roxas shifts followed by Khan leaping out and tackling Roxas before he could defend himself. "...I have no reason to keep you alive, hunter."

"No Khan" yells Bagheera as he and Baloo try to move over to save Roxas while the tiger goes in for the kill.

"Sorry..." says Roxas, quickly pressing a hand against Shere Khan's underside, blasting him with a Blaze Arrow which sends him leaping off Roxas and backing away. "I'm no one's dinner."

"I don't know what it was you just did" says Shere Khan, still feeling the sting from whatever Roxas had just done to him, not aware Roxas had intentionally made the spell weaker so as to avoid a fatal blow. "But that isn't going to save you."

Shere Khan then turns and jumps back into the tall grass, making himself unseeable to Roxas, Baloo, and Bagheera. The three went onto the defensive, waiting and wondering when and where Khan would attack them from. The tiger's attacks would come swiftly as he would jump out suddenly, landing a quick hit then jumping back into the safety of the tall grass before they could attack him themselves. But Roxas quickly noticed that the grass would rustle and shake in the spots Khan was at, especially in the moments before he would go onto the attack. Recalling what he had heard earlier, that Shere Khan feared fire, he would cast his Blaze Arrow spell and send it at the spot where the grass was shaking, making Khan jump out to escape the fire he feared and allowing them a chance to strike back at him.

And after several rounds of this, they had done enough damage to knock the dangerous tiger off its feet which Roxas was quick to take advantage of by getting on top of him and holding his Chainsaw Blade out; positioned and ready to finish his foe off should he try anything funny.

Shere Khan chuckled, keeping up his cool and calculative demeanor despite the fact he was afraid as this was the closest he had come to being killed by man since his days as a cup, where he had first man and gained his fear of man's gun and man's fire.

"So it seems this hunter has truly become the hunted. Well, man-cub, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and claim your trophy...if you can." He then swipes at Roxas which forces him to jump back in defense, giving Khan the chance to make a run for the ruins.

"Go after him. He may lead us to the fragment" says Know-it-all.

Roxas and the others do so, quickly passing from the jungle into the ruins. Soon, they corner Shere Khan in a corner, trapping him. "Just give up. You won't escape us" says Roxas.

"Foolish man-cub, do you really think I'd..." Shere Khan didn't get to finish as the ground begins to shake suddenly, quickly followed by the ground beneath him erupting suddenly, sending him flying. As he hits the ground, a impossibly big and long Thoughtless rises from the ground. A viscous purple colored anaconda like beast that quickly turns its attention to the injured Khan.

"Is that also a Thoughtless?" asked Bagheera.

"You could have told us they came in jumbo size as well, little britches" adds Baloo.

"Sorry, I'm seeing one this big for the first time myself" says Roxas, already back on his feet.

"...Kaa" says Khan, making Baloo and Bagheera look at him in surprise. "He's been bewitched by those beast."

"No way, it can't be..." says Baloo as the Kaa Thoughtless reveals a cobra like hood behind its head, hissing loudly.

"Is that really Kaa?" asked Bagheera.

"Not anymore" comes Know-it-all. "A Thoughtless, driven by an unending hunger, found and turned one who's a slave to gluttony into its host body. Before us is the Potent Thoughtless..."

"Carnal Coiler!"

Carnal Coiler goes to devour Khan, but is stopped by Roxas who manages to strike the side of its head. Khan looks at him, surprised by this act. "Why did you...?"

"Bad habit of mine" was the reply. "It's in my nature to help any in trouble. Even the ones who would wish to eat me. Like I said; bad habit."

Roxas then continues his attacks while Bagheera and Baloo join in. Khan gets back onto his feet though he's still a little on the wobbly side. He watches them for just a moment before jumping up to a higher floor and disappearing from sight.

Carnal Coiler was fast, moving swiftly and fluidly across the ground while using holes within the ruin walls to slither into easily, despite its size so it could reappear from another for deadly sneak attacks. Worse yet was when it exposed its cobra like hood, it could emit a sound which, combined with its glowing spiraling eyes, could cause those caught within its gaze for to long to be cast into a powerful trance like state, making the whole world around them shift in color with up becoming down, left becoming right and so on. It quickly became clear defeat was a certainty unless they came up with a plan and quickly too.

Roxas backs flips in order to avoid an attempt by this Thoughtless to devour him and finds himself saying "You know, guys. It's times like these that make you wish there was a snake charmer around here."

"A what?" says Bagheera while trying to bite into the Coiler's tail but was unable to as it was constantly in motion.

"A snake charmer. Someone who use music to control snakes and such" says Roxas, using a fallen statue to get a little air and strike the beast in its head, knocking it back just a little while hissing in annoyance.

"Music, huh?" says Baloo, who had been trying to lift its middle with his brute strength, hoping he could roll it off onto its side. After a moment, his eyes light up. "That gives me an idea." He then moves away from the Carnal Coiler, over to Bagheera and picks his panther buddy up.

"Baloo, what are you...?"

"Hold the fort for a few seconds, kid. We'll be right back" says Baloo who had already turned and was heading towards the exit.

"Say what?" yells Roxas which leave him open enough for the Thoughtless to send its tail lashing out, sending him flying back from the impact.

"I have an idea...trust me..." yells back Baloo, already passing through the arch way to the outside.

"They ditched us? I can't believe it...YOU COWARDS" yells Know-it-all. After a second, he adds "Can't say I blame them, though."

"They didn't abandon us...I hope" says Roxas, getting back onto his feet and charging at the massive snake. He lands several strong attacks, making it back off though this was more for its sudden release of a rather powerful trance blast which makes Roxas reel and stumble, his senses being thrown beyond out of whack.

In his mind, he can hear Know-it-all yell at him, saying "Kid, what are you doing. Run..." But the books words are dull and muddled in his mind. He feels something wrapping around him and his body being lifted into the air, but he just couldn't respond. His eyes can see the head of the Coiler, its jaws unhinging as he prepares to swallow him whole, but he just can't seem to react to it.

Carnal Coiler goes in for the finishing blow, but a yellow blur slams into its head suddenly with enough force to knock it into the stone wall hard, leaving it momentarily stunned. The coiled Roxas, though still restrained, is returned to the ground as the yellow blur lands by him.

"Snap out of it" it says, followed by a hard slap to his face, bringing Roxas senses back to normal.

"What...what happened?" he ask before his eyes fall onto the yellow furred bear, dressed in clothes similar to those that Robin and Little John had worn. "Hey, it's you..."

"We can talk later" says the female bear. "First, we need to tame mister hissy here." By then, Carnal Coiler had regained its own senses and was turning to look at them.

"I'm all for that" says Roxas, trying to free himself but finds his body firmly trapped within its coils. "One problem though. I'm sort of trapped right now."

"Quick, open your mouth" says the bear while reaching into her pouch and pulling out a bottle. "Drink this down, hurry."

Knowing now wasn't the time for questions, Roxas does as she says and opens his mouth, allowing her to pour the mystery drink down his throat. Almost instantly, his feels a zing race across his whole body as his muscles pulse. He then finds himself, on autopilot, using his arms to try and pry himself free from Carnal Coiler's grasp, this time having success. He and the bear jump away just in time as the snake tries to capture them again.

"What the heck was that? I feel..."

"Like you just gained super strength?" says the bear. "Gummiberry Juice has that effect on you humans. But that won't long. Hurry and defeat that thing while you still have super strength."

"That's the plan" says Roxas. "But how do we get around its trance inducing abilities?"

As if to answer his question, Baloo's voice is heard, saying "Oh mister slithery?" This makes the Carnal Coiler turn in the direction of the voice in time as Baloo jumps out, having dressed himself up in a leafy skirt, a banana peel acting as hair, and coconuts like a bra. He quickly begins to sing, scat, and dance much like he had done before when trying to rescue Mowgli from King Louie.

Naturally, this makes Roxas and the female bear go speechless. They then go wide eyed as Bagheera appears, dressed in a similar fashion while singing as well, though his tunes were horribly off key due to him having never done this before.

"No way that's gonna..." says Know-it-all, its words stopping as the Carnal Coiler starts waving its head back and forth like it was dancing. Clearly, it was enjoying this. "IT'S ACTAULLY WORKING?"

"Now Roxas..." yells the bear.

"On it" he yells, running up behind it and grabbing a firm hold on its tail before using all his might to send it swinging around, slamming its head into the stone walls, floor, and ceiling multiple times before sending it slamming hard onto the ground, then rushing its head and delivering the strongest strike he can. The impact of the attack causes the diamond shaped object in between its eyes to shatter which makes cracks appear all over its body. The cracks grow more and more till the Thoughtless shatters, bringing an end to it and leaving behind the unconscious body of Kaa lying on the ground.

"Finally, it's over...right?" asked Bagheera, glad he could stop singing and stop his personal humiliation.

"Not yet" says Roxas, already looking around. "We need to find the gemstone. Then it will be..."

He doesn't finish as Shere Khan comes from out of nowhere, tackling Roxas and pinning him down. The others run to save him, but Khan places claws at Roxas neck, saying "Another step and he dies", bring them to a halt.

Shere Khan the turns hit attention to Roxas. "Tell me one thing, man-cub. Before, why did you save me from being devoured by that thing possessing Kaa? I had tried to kill you before and could easily do so now. Surely you know all of this then yet still you saved my life. Why?"

"That's just who I am" was Roxas reply. "Yes, I do know all of this, yet none of that should matter where preserving a life is concerned. Good or bad, you have as much of a reason to live on as anyone."

Shere Khan studies him, his eyes, while thinking on Roxas words. He then chuckles as he moves off Roxas. "You are an oddity, man-cub. An oddity and a curiosity to me. Fine, I won't kill you this day."

Roxas gets back onto his feet and says "I appreciate that. So, is the item I seek here?"

"I can't say as I can't be sure what has appeared here as of late is what it is you seek. But come..." Shere Khan then begins moving towards a passage that led deeper into the tunnels. "I will take you to the object hiding itself deep inside this place."

The others join them as they move deeper into the ruins. "Khan, why did you spare Roxas?" asked Baloo. Bagheera adds "That is so unlike you based on your past behavior."

"You're right. That is so unlike me. But the fact of the matter still remains. He saved my life from that creature which had possessed Kaa and proper etiquette demands I do him a service in return. Sure, I still could have killed him back there. But the debt would have remained and I can't allow myself to ever remain in debt to a man or his cub."

"Well, that makes sense I guess..." says Bagheera.

Baloo nods, then turns his attention to the young female bear cub. "So, wanna tell us who you are? You're clearly not from around these parts. You some friend of little britches here?"

"That's...well, it's complicated" she says.

"Can you talk about it now?" asked Roxas.

"I guess I can" she says. "First, my name is Sunny...Sunny Gummi. I come from a place called Gummi Glen which is far from this jungle."

_Another world to be more exact_ comes the voice of Know-it-all from within Roxas mind.

"One day, while I was on my way to visit a friend of mine, a light shot down from the sky and I was caught within it. It said I was needed to go on this quest, to deliver something important to a human named Roxas. If I did this, then I was promised a day would come when this aid would be returned to my home and a dark deed could be undone" said Sunny.

"What do you mean?" asked Roxas.

"That'll have to wait a bit I'm afraid" says Khan suddenly, coming to a stop. "We've arrived."

Before them was a barrier of light formed around the door that led into the room beyond. "When it first appeared in there, it formed this wall of light that I was unable to pass through. Several of those things came here and tried to pass into the chamber but that act destroyed them the moment they touched the light." He then looks back at Roxas, asking "Well?"

He didn't need to touch the barrier to know the answer. "Yeah, there's no question. It's Kairi's light." Roxas then steps forward, placing a hand against the barrier and finding it warm. It doesn't deny him, allowing him to pass through easily.

The room beyond was bathed in light with the fragment gem floating at its center. Roxas walks up to it and holds his hand s out. "Kairi, I'm here. Let's go home..." he says, making the gem pulse before moving over to his hands which makes it glow even brighter before the glow fades and the room returns to normal. Content, he stuffs it into his pockets and exits the room.

"So, was it what you were looking for?" asked Bagheera.

Roxas nods, saying "Yeah, it was. That makes two of them I've found now."

"And those Thoughtless guys?" asked Baloo. "Will they leave us alone now?"

"Once I leave this world, then yeah. They should..." says Roxas.

"There may be some stragglers remaining for a bit, but nothing major to worry about" adds Know-it-all.

"Then I'll ask you all to leave now" comes Shere Khan. "But know this, man-cub. While I spare you this day, I may not be so kind should we ever gross paths in the future." And with that, Khan takes off to parts unknown.

The other head outside, feeling the light of the sun warm them and making them feel at ease. "Well, I guess I better get going then" says Roxas. "Thank you for your help, Baloo and Bagheera."

"Any time" says Bagheera.

"And little britches, if you ever find yourself back around here again. Look us up. I'll teach you about the bare necessities of life" says Baloo.

"Hm, then I guess I'll need to come back here again one day then" he says before saying one final goodbye. He then turns and walks into the forest while Sunny follows after him. From behind, Bagheera and Baloo shout out good luck for his future journey.

Once they had gotten far enough away, Sunny stops and says "Well, I better finish up my work here and give you the item I was asked to give you." She then reaches into her pockets and pulls out a bottle which she hands to him.

"Inside this bottle is the secret to the powers we Gummi Bears have; the Gummiberry Juice. Just a small sip is enough to grant special powers" she says.

"What kind of powers?" asked Roxas.

"Well, for us Gummi Bears, we become incredibly bouncy. You saw me bouncing around back there, right?" Roxas nods at her question. "That's what is does for our kind. But for humans like yourself, drinking it gives you enhanced super strength for about thirty seconds or so."

Roxas looks at the bottle, thinking on how useful such a power would be both in and our of battles. He then looks at her and says "Thanks, I'll use it well."

"Sure. Oh, a word of warning though. You only need a sip to trigger the power. Drinking to much at once can be really bad on your health. Also, after the effect wears off, don't drink again immediately as it won't be as effective. Instead, allow a few hours to pass before using again" says Sunny.

Roxas nods as he places the bottle into one of his pockets. "Got it."

A moment later, Sunny begins to glow as her body starts to fade started with her feet. "Wait, what about what you said before? About your world needing help?" asked Roxas.

"It'll be fine" says Sunny. "Like I said before, I was told aiding you would set in motion the events that will lead to my home being saved. I don't know if it's you that will save it or not but the thought my world being saved from the darkness makes me feel comfort in the knowing."

"Then if it does end up being me, then I guess all I can say is..." Roxas then holds his hand out. "See you soon, Sunny."

She nods happily as her cheeks turn a slight pink as she does the same, taking his hand. "I can't wait..." she says before fully fading from sight.

"Let's go home, Roxas" says Know-it-all as it opens a portal for them to pass through.

After the usual passing through the tunnel made with prism like light, they reappear within the portal chamber, finding things still the same as when they had left that morning. Roxas steps forward and places the gem over Kairi's heart, smiling as he did so.

"Here, I got back another one, Kairi" he says before leaving the room, wanting to get some fresh air and see if the island was still fairing well. As he stepped outside, he found himself needing to bring a hand up to guard from the strong sunlight. The sun was drawing closer to the horizon but there was still a few hours left before sunset.

"Must be late afternoon" says Know-it-all.

"Yeah, I..." Roxas doesn't finish as his vision suddenly blurs and he feels his legs become wobbly.

"Hey, you OK, brat?" asked Know-it-all.

Roxas vision returns to normal and he regains his balance, then says "Yeah, I'm fine. Weird though. What was that about?"

"Maybe you're overdoing it. Pushing yourself to hard here. You probably just need some serious rest before heading out ti another world.

"So, hit the hay early?" wondered Roxas aloud.

"Um...mister Roxas?" comes a voice, making him jump. Roxas then sees the female Moogle, Monette emerge from some bushes just ahead of him.

"Oh, it was you...Monette, was it?" he asked, getting a nod. He then chuckles nervously, saying "Sorry about what happened this morning. I thought a Thoughtless had gotten into the chamber."

She shakes her head, saying "No, you're fine. I was the one who was snooping around unsteady of waiting to come with the others. I just wanted to get a better look at you and your friend. Mog always chides me for my curiosity."

"Sounds like someone I know" says Roxas. "Anyways, you were looking for me I take it?"

"Oh yeah, that's right" she says before clapping her hands together, making an object appear which floats over to Roxas. "Here, I made this for you. I think it might help you in your quest."

Roxas takes the object, which was a fingerless glove with a small orb fashioned into knuckle. "It can help? How?"

"I call this my Linked Hearts Summoner Glove" she says before giggling. "I was never very good with naming things. Anyways, the gem allows you to summon to you any of the friends you've made during your journey. They can only remain with your for a few moments before they're returned to their world but it's still helpful when in a pinch. Well...I'd like to think so at least."

Roxas nods before sliding the glove on. "This will be helpful to me. Thank you, Monette."

Monette nods, feeling happy that her gift was accepted. "Well, I better get going. Remember, if you need anything. We Moogles will be here now to help you." With that said, Monette turns and flies off.

Roxas watches her fly off, then looks at the glove. "So, watch ya gonna do now, brat?" asked Know-it-all.

"Good question..." says Roxas, recalling the challenge Carnal Coiler had gave him. He then remembers Mog saying something about putting together an obstacle course that could help him become stronger. "I think I'll spend some time with Mog and the others. See if they can help me become a better fighter."

His decision made, Roxas heads off to where the Moogles had set up camp, ready to see what all they had and what additional help they may be able to get him. Little did he know that someone was watching him from the shadows...

"So, it has finally begun..."

**Bonus Xhearts Event: The Coliseum**

Roxas awoke suddenly, a single thought playing over and over again in his mind as he gets up and makes a quick beeline to exit the temple ruins as quick as possible. What was the thought, you ask?

_Man, why did I drink that Moogle Juice Mog gave me?_

Once he had finished taking care of business, he takes a moment to look up at the star filled sky and notes the position of the moon. From what he could tell, at was a little past midnight. Yawning, he heads back into the temple to get back to sleep so he'd be at his best for the next days search.

Upon entering the inner chamber, his eyes immediately take notice of something. At some point since he had first started this journey, another door had appeared within the room, bringing the number to eight. Walking up to the new door, he notices it didn't have stars above it like the others. Instead, it had an image of two blades crossing each other. While he knew he needed to get some more sleep, his curiosity about this new door made him decide to step through and at least see where it led to.

During the dive, he realizes he hadn't brought Know-it-all with him, but it wasn't like he was going to be gone long, right? Just a quick look-see around the arrival spot. Upon arriving, Roxas had to bring a hand up to shield his eyes from the bright sun light. He looks around and sees large columns acting like walls for the large courtyard like area. To his right was a building.

"Well, seeing as I'm already here and all..." says Roxas, deciding to sneak a peek inside.

As he nears the door, it opens and a group of youths around his age come walking out, all of whom were obviously tired and annoyed. "Man, how can anyone be expected to pass those insane trials of his?" asked one of the youths.

Another says "He said Hercules had been able to do it."

"Well, of course he could seeing as he has Gods for parents. I'm gonna do the whole hero thing the old fashioned way" says another.

"What was that about?" wondered Roxas, watching them walk off before entering the building. Inside, he was a man of small stature with goat like legs with his back turned to Roxas, his attention focused on something he had in hand.

"Hm, maybe I should tone the trials down just a bit...at least for the first Cup..."

"Um...excuse me?" said Roxas, walking up to the man.

"Huh? Do we have another challen...ger?" the goat man turns around, giving his attention to Roxas. Seeing Roxas makes the goat man run up to him.

"Say, have we met somewhere before? You look sort of familiar somehow?" asked the goat man.

"I don't think so...at least I can't recall having met you in the past, sir" said Roxas.

"Oh, I see..." says the goat man. "Funny, I could have sworn...never mind that. I'm assuming you're here for the Junior Hero trials.?"

"The what?" asked Roxas.

"WHAT?, You mean you don't know?" says the goat man. "Yeesh, kids these days. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised as you don't look you're from around these parts. Alright, I'll give you the four one one. First though, we should introduce ourselves. You can call me Phil; trainer of heroes."

"I'm Roxas."

"Weird name, but whatever. Anyways, like I said, I train great heroes and I've recently decided to have this here junior hero trials in order to find the next big thing seeing as we can't expect my star pupil, Hercules, to deal with all the troubles that come around, now that he's thinking about starting a family with his girlfriend" says Phil.

"Makes sense" agreed Roxas.

"Now, these trials are broken up into four cups; each testing participants on their strength, skills, intellect, endurance, and heart. The first three cups have ten rounds each while the last has fifty. Those who make it all the way to the end will get to face Hercules himself as the final challenge. Victory earns you the title of Junior Hero and a chance to be trained by me specifically."

"Sounds tough" says Roxas.

"Maybe to tough" admits Phil. "I've had well over a hundred young challengers try out so far yet none have been able to go the distance. Heck, none haven't even gone as far as making it through the second cup. At this rate, I'm afraid I'll never find another zero who can become a true hero like Hercules."

He then looks at Roxas closely, studying him. "You know, you might actually be able to do it, kid. There's something about you that gives me hope." Phil then steps back and motions to a sign up sheet. "What do ya say, kid. Wanna try your luck with the trials?"

"I'd like to...but..."

"What? Don't tell me you're afraid or something?" asked Phil.

"No, it's not that. The thing is...well, I'm currently on this quest and I don't really have the time to spend on stuff like this" says Roxas. "Maybe after I'm done with that..."

"So, you're on a quest then, huh? All the more reason you should take on the trials. Trying your luck at becoming a Junior Hero may help you gain the skills or improve existing skills that will make your quest easier. Besides, I don't expect you to do all four cups at once. Come around when ever you have time to spare and we'll see how you do. So, wanna give it a shot?"

Roxas gives it some thought, then says "Alright then. Where do I sign up?"

It was a start of a new legend...of a new hero in the making...

**Secret Video Report 4**

DiZ turned away from the screen as the image of Roxas went to bed. He allowed himself a momentary peek back at the screen before turning back and switching the image to something else. He had no interest in the success or failure of this Nobody, but he was growing more and more curious about these Thoughtless creatures. There was also these two worlds Roxas had visited. He had never encountered them during his travels. Where they, in fact, real or not? If they were real, then he would need to obtain their coordinates within the Lane's so as to add them to his list of worlds.

Putting these thoughts aside for now, he punches in some commands, making an image of Namine appear on his screen. "Namine, how much longer will Sora need to regain his memories?" he asked, wanting this simulation to be over with as soon as possible.

Namine looks away for a moment, then she says "His memories have already been returned."

"What?" asked DiZ, not expecting to hear that from her.

"Your program worked much faster than I could have ever imagined. The memories have already been returned in full to Sora. All that's left for me to do is to return them to their proper order of happening" says Namine.

"Incredible..." says DiZ, astonished that Myzer's program had done its job so well and quickly. "When will Sora reawaken?"

"Morning at the earliest. Later in the afternoon at the latest. He's already trying to awaken but can't due to his memories still being out of whack. But I'll have that issue resolved by sunrise. His companions, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy have also started to show signs of waking and should awaken around the same time as Sora if not sooner."

DiZ smiled, knowing that his time for revenge would come soon, once Sora had awakened and he had gotten back into his groove as a fighter. "Inform me the moment he awakens."

"What about Roxas?" asked Namine suddenly.

DiZ didn't respond at first as he considered his options. "We no longer have a reason to keep him around, now that Sora has what is rightfully his back within him. Being that is the case here, I shall go ahead and delete the program and the Nobody along with it."

"But you can't" cries Namine. "He...Roxas...doesn't deserve that."

"He's a Nobody, Namine. Just like you yourself are. No Nobody has the right to deserve any rights. And I will not risk the Organization getting Roxas back within their ranks. For the sake of all worlds, I will do as I must as the servant..."

"No DiZ, please. I think Roxas might..."

Namine's pleas are cut off as the screen goes blank, turned off by DiZ as he had no interest in hearing anything she may have to say. Her words would have been hollow anyways, only said to cast his mind into doubt and second thoughts. Neither of those he needed now at this critical juncture.

He then types in some new commands, bringing up a word scroll which asked 'Do you wish to delete this program?' He types in yes and another message appears, asking him if he was sure.

"I am sure" he says. "Nothing personal..." adds DiZ as he goes to confirm for the final time his choice; the choice that would not only end Roxas, but Kairi as well. Not that he would ever know that...

next time on Xhearts:_ As Roxas prepares to head off to the next world, a little issue comes up to add an unexpected turn; Xion. But will any of it matter as DiZ goes to delete them all?_

**Kingdom Hearts: Thoughtless Reality**

Another chapter, another set of would be game ideas that could go along with this story if it ever did become a thing. First, the name as shown above would be subtitled Thoughtless Reality, though this is just a working title at present, one that may be changed before we reach the last chapter, which is where I'll re-list the full details like Thoughtless names and information.

One possible alternate name could be Thoughtless Road or No Mind Road, the latter being a reference to the alternate name for the Thoughtless I came up with, the No Mind's. Question, does anyone like No Mind as the new enemy type's name or do you all like Thoughtless more?

Anyways, to the details...

-After beating your first world, you would experience a cut scene upon returning to the island which introduces the Moogles and makes you aware of the services they offer.

-Completing Mog's little obstacle course will gain you access to this games version of the Blizzard spell. At present, I'm calling it Frosty Mist, which covers the immediate area in a cold mist that slows down enemy movement, even damaging certain types of enemies.

-After clearing the battle that follows meeting King Louie, you gain this game's version of the Cure spell, called Aura. Aura, as the name implies, makes the one being healed glowed with light, healing them over the course of five seconds (restoring around fifteen percent of your max HP for each second in the five for a total of seventy five percent). Upgrading this spell will eventually allow it to remain active for twenty seconds and restore thirty percent HP for each of those seconds which makes it useful during the harder boss fights, especially the super bosses.

-Once you beat the Great Jungle world, you gain enhanced strength which comes from the Gummiberry Juice given to you by Sunni which, when used outside of battle, allows you to easily lift heavy boulders and, when in battle, doubles your attack power for thirty seconds.

-You also gain the keychain needed to use the Bare Necessities Keyblade. This Keyblade offers up a bonus hit in both land and air based combo's while increasing the number of HP ball, Munny, and Charge drops gained by defeating enemies.

-After returning to the islands following the defeat of the second Potent Thoughtless, you gain the Friend Summoner Glove from Monette which allows you to call upon your allies from each world to aid you in fights while in worlds different than their own, though with some limitations applying. First, you can only summon any one group once per world (summon Robin and Little John once) then you'd have to leave and return before you can call them again. Even if you summon one group, you can still summon any of the others once you recharge the Summon Gauge, using Charge Orbs, so long as you haven't already summoned them during your current trip into that world.

-Finally, completing two worlds adds a new door you can pass through, this one leading to Olympus Coliseum where you can take on various challenges to earn high grade equipment, power ups, and other useful items and such. This is also where you'll fight most of the optional Bosses at. Everything that happens here is not related to the main story so doing it is optional yet well worth the effort.

-I know the inclusion of Sunny Gummi of the Gummibears may feel disjointed and and wonky within the narrative of this chapter. In truth, there wasn't any way around that I could think of as I wanted it to be Gummi Berry Juice to was the source of Roxas enhanced strength. Thus, I needed a Gummi for that. But, I soon realized maybe her feeling out of place was the point as perhaps she wasn't meant to be here in the program, instead being sent in by someone else. Outside interference you could say. I'll go into more detail about that in the next chapter, or in chapter five as it will relate to...

Now, before I close out this chapter, **I have a request to anyone who's reading this chapter that has good drawing skills (and you post your works on sites like deviantart or what not.)**. I have an idea for a cover image of this story, but my own personal drawing skills suck real bad, thus leaving me lacking on the confidence department that I could make it. My request is that if you're willing to, I'd like for you to draw the image for me and link me to the image or send it, which ever. If I like it, I will make it the official image for this series on FF. Now, for the picture details...

-Roxas standing at the center of the image, dressed in his Twilight Town attire (white jacket, black shirt and pants) with his hands held out before him, holding a fragment of Kairi's light. His face having an awed like reaction (or any facial look that would feel fitting here).

-Over his left shoulder, we have Xion. Her clothes would be similar to those being worn by Roxas, but with a reverse color scheme and she'd be wearing shorts instead of pants (assuming you can see her legs in the shot?). While her body would be turned to the side, her head would be angled so as to have her be looking at Roxas with a sad or worried look on her face.

-Over his right shoulder, we'd have Kairi with her gaze off towards the distance, looking slightly towards the sky. Maybe have her be ghostly in the image? She would look like her KH1 design though maybe have her hair a little bit longer, like somewhere between KH1 and KH2 in length.

-Over them would be Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. His back would be present with his head turned in one direction, giving off a sinister and evil gaze.

-Below them would be several Thoughtless, looking like they were running, either towards or away from something. Or, as an alternative, maybe we'd see (at least some) of the Disney characters being used here in the game lining the bottom. (Character being used are Robin Hood, Jungle Book, Great Mouse Detective, Emperor's New Groove...)

-Know-it-all would be seen hanging in its pouch at Roxas side.

Well, that's that. See you all in 2015...


	4. Great Unexpectations

"_When I'm around you, all the light shines brighter" - Roxas_

**XHearts**

**chpt.4: Great Unexpectations pt.1**

"_...and I now travel from world to world gathering hearts in order to help complete Kingdom Hearts. That is my role within the Organization" _says Roxas, turning his attention away from Kairi towards the horizon. _"Wow, the sun's already setting? I didn't realize I had been talking for so long."_

"_I'm not bothered by that"_ says Kairi, also looking towards the setting sun before looking back at Roxas. _"I still don't understand though. Why are you needed to gather the hearts from defeating Heartless and bring them together to form Kingdom Hearts for the Organization?"_

"_It's to restore that which we all lack. To regain our hearts" _says Roxas.

"_Regain? I don't understand?" _says Kairi.

"_That's what makes us what we are; Nobodies. When a heart and body are pulled apart by the darkness, a Heartless is born from the castaway heart. In turn, the body lost within the darkness becomes a Nobody. As a Nobody, I and the others seek to regain the heart we lost to the darkness"_ says Roxas before hopping down from the bent palm tree he and Kairi were sitting on.

"_Anyways, its getting late and I need to be getting back before the others start to worry about me." _As he opens a portal, his mentally corrects himself, telling himself his real concern was everyone finding out he had spent most of the day talking with Kairi which would get him in hot water with Saix.

Kairi hops down as well and ask _"Do you really have to go so soon? I was...hoping, maybe, we could talk some more."_

"_Sorry, but I don't really have a choice here" _says Roxas.

"_I see..."_ Kairi looks away, then back at him and ask _"Will...you be able to come back tomorrow?"_

"_I don't think that will be possible. But..."_ He steps towards her and places a hand on her shoulder. _"But the next chance I get, I will make a return trip here. I'll come visit you again."_

"_You will?"_ Kairi asked, getting a nod which makes her smile. _"I'll be waiting then."_

They then say their goodbyes and Roxas steps into the portal, stopping and looking back at her one last time. _"By the way. Does the name Xion mean anything to you?"_

"_Xion? No; not that I can think of. Why? Should it mean something?"_ asked Kairi, tilting her head to the side as she takes on a thinking pose while running his question through her head.

"_I guess not. It's just...there's a girl within our group who looks just like you. In fact, the only difference I can see between you and her is in the color of your hair. She has black hair to your red. I really don't know much about her...no one does really. I thought, maybe, she might have been a relative of yours?"_

Kairi thinks on this some more, then shakes her head. _"Sorry, but I can't think of anyone like that within my family. But still, maybe...can you bring her around next time so I can see her for myself?"_

"_If I can, I will" _he says before adding one final goodbye. He then passes completely into the portal, leaving Kairi behind to watch it close behind him. As he passed into the dark, Roxas made a note of the date for his journal; Day 88 since he joined the Organization.

"_I miss him already..." _says Kairi before turning and heading towards the docks, passing through the ghost Roxas who had been watching the whole scene. He watches her as she walks away before looking at the spot the portal his other self had used had been at.

"It's just like they say" notes ghost Roxas. "Absence does make the heart grow fonder."

And with those words, the world around him became so dark that he was unable to see anything and this latest dream came to an end with realities light bringing him back to the awakened land. Roxas groans as he gets up and stretches and yawns; rubbing his stomach as it growls, demanding breakfast.

"Well, better get something to eat before heading out..."

"Roxas, Roxas..." cries Monette as she comes flying into the room, zooming around him in a wild and frantic spiral.

"Monette, what's wrong?" asked Roxas.

"There's...a monster. It appeared from out of nowhere and..." cries Monette.

"What? A Thoughtless?" says Roxas, already grabbing his Chainsaw Blade and Know-it-all from off the floor, the sudden motion waking the magic tome from its slumber which makes it complain about all the commotion being made. "Lead the way. I'll take care of it."

Monette calms down enough to nod before flying from the room with Roxas right behind her.

At the camp site, the other Moogles hover behind Mog who stands before a bush with his spear weapon drawn. "OK foul monster, just come out nice and slow like and I promise I won't hurt ya."

"Mog, I brought Roxas" cries Monette as she comes flying in with Roxas arriving on the scene just a few moments after.

"Why'd ya do that for? I told ya I could handle this myself" yells Mog, then grumbles "No faith..."

"Is the Thoughtless hiding in there?" asked Roxas, coming to stand beside Mog.

"Can't be sure as I haven't been able to see it well enough yet."

"So, what happened anyways?" asked Roxas.

"Well, after we set up shop here, I couldn't help but get this feeling we were being watched but I couldn't sense anything dangerous around. Then we started to see some of our food supplies go missing. At first, I thought it might have been Noggy sneaking snacks seeing as he has been putting on weight as of late..." says Mog, having turned to face Roxas.

"I'm not fat, Mog. You know as well as anyone I'm just a little big boned" yells Noggy.

"Whatever" says Mog. "Anyways, it was just a few moments ago when we found the real culprit, hiding itself within this bush here. I was just about to go in after it..."

"Sure you were, Mog" says Kurpi.

"Quiet you" yells Mog. "Anyways, seeing as you're here now, slackey. Why don't you go in first and see what we're up against. I mean, you ARE the resident Thoughtless expert around here."

"Meaning I'm to much of a coward to actually go in myself despite all my big talk" says Gumo.

"What did you say?" yells Mog.

"Alright, I'll do it" says Roxas, already stepping forward while wanting to end the little back and forth bickering between the Moogles. With one hand holding his blade, he uses the other peel back the bush and peek at whatever it was that was hiding just beyond it. But what his eyes see wasn't what he was expecting to see.

"No way...it can't be..."

"What is it, slackey?" asked Mog, not sure if he should step forward and take a peek himself.

"Does someone have a blanket or something that can be used as covering?" asked Roxas suddenly.

"Why would you need a blanket?" asked Mosh.

"Here, I have one" says Monette, doing a little spin and making a blanket appear from nowhere. She then flies over to Roxas, ignoring Mog telling her to keep her distance. She also peeks into the bush then looks back and says "All of you stay where you are. No peeking...you wannabe perverts."

"Say what?" shout all the male Moogles as she moves beyond the bush. After a moment, she reappears and says "OK, you can come out now."

The creature doesn't appear, making Roxas extend his hand out, towards the unseen entity. "It's alright, they won't hurt you. We're all friends here..."

After a moment, a hand appears to take hold of Roxas hand, allowing him to guide the entity out into the open. It was, in fact, a human girl who appeared to be the same age as Roxas with fair skin, short black hair, and was naked save for the blanket that was covering her. But her face...her hair style...

"Wait, isn't that your sleeping beauty, slackey?" asked Mog. "When did she wake up and come outside? And when did she dye her hair?"

"No, this isn't Kairi..." says Roxas, not sure what to say. "I...I don't know what's going on right now?"

"Perhaps Ansem will have an answer" comes Know-it-all. "Place me down on the ground and I'll contact him." Roxas nods as he drops his sword so as to use his free hand to take hold of Know-it-all and place him down while keeping his other hand holding the black haired Kairi's hand so she didn't go running off on them again.

The gem upon Know-it-all begins to glow followed by it emitting a cone of light several feet into the air; the image of Ansem appearing within it. The site makes the girl hide herself behind Roxas.

"Roxas? This is unexpected. How fares your search for Kairi's light?" asked Ansem.

"Good so far. I've managed to collect two of her heart fragments so far though those Thoughtless haven't made thing easy" say Roxas.

"I can imagine. I am happy to hear you have been successful thus far" says Ansem.

"How are things going on your end? Have you found the one behind Kairi's current situation?" asked Roxas, his tone a little cooler than is the norm.

"He still eludes me though with each world I track him to, I draw closer to capturing him. It won't be much longer, I can assure you" says Ansem. "Now, what's the real reason I needed to be contacted just now? I doubt it was just for this simple update. Has something happened?"

"Yeah, you could say that..." says Roxas, moving around the girl so she was facing Ansem directly.

"What...what is this?" says Ansem, clearly surprised by the sight of this girl here before him.

"So boss, any ideas about this little look alike we have here?" asked Mog.

"Hm?" says Ansem, scratching his head. He studies the girl for a moment, then says to himself "Could it be...is it even possible?"

"You have an idea?" asked Roxas.

"I'm sure I may have mentioned this before when I spoke to you about the Thoughtless. There is another type of entity that can be born from the minds of men; the Figments or beings born from ones imagination. I believe this blacked haired version of Kairi may be as such; a Figment" says Ansem.

"But how did she come into existence?" asked Monette.

"Perhaps as her heart was leaving her, Kairi created this girl to replace her missing presence within Roxas life, so he wouldn't be left alone. Or, perhaps it was you yourself who did that, Roxas" says Ansem. "At present, that is the best I can assume here."

Roxas was quiet for a moment, then he says "So, what should I do with her then?"

"I'll leave that decision up to you. Well, if there is nothing else, I'll take my leave..."

"Sir, is there something you could do with your powers to clothe her?" asked Monette. "I doubt she'd feel comfortable wearing only a blanket to keep her modesty intact."

"I suppose that's true. Very well..."

The ghostly image of Ansem then holds a hand out making it glow before a light is released which is then seen passing out from Know-it-all's gem, floating over to the girl and making the blanket glow while lifting her into the air. The blanket forms itself around her as it glows brighter and brighter. When the light fades, it had become clothing similar to those being worn by Roxas.

The girl now had a white shirt with string like shoulder straps, white shorts that had a baggy quality to them, black shoes and a black hooded jacket with white lines running along it, and a necklace similar to that being worn by Roxas, except gold instead of silver. The girl looks at her new garments though she didn't seem to interested.

"If anything else happens, contact me" says Ansem before is image fades. Roxas walks over and picks up Know-it-all.

"So, what do we do with her now?" it asked.

"We'll take her with us, of course" says Roxas. "I...we can't just leave her here by herself..."

"Hey, what are we? Chop liver?" yells Mog.

"You know what I meant, which wasn't that" says Roxas.

"I think taking her with him is for the best" says Monette. "It may help solve the mystery of her origins. So Roxas, you have any idea what to call her?"

"Black haired Kairi? Kairi Two? Other Kairi? Boy, giving her a name is hard" says Mog.

"Xion" says Roxas, his attention turned to the girl. "Her name is Xion."

"Xion? Where the heck you get a name like that brat?" asked Know-it-all.

"Well...it's because...she looks like a Xion" says Roxas.

"Xion, I like it" says Monette.

"Well, what ever floats your boat, slackey. She doesn't seem to mind, though that isn't saying much right now" says Mog.

Roxas turns his attention to Xion, getting her to look at him. "Understand? Your name is Xion. And as for me? I'm Roxas. Got that memorized, Xion?"

"Xi...on? Rox...as?" she says, her voice sounded dazed and confused.

"Oh boy, this is gonna be a fun trip now" says Know-it-all, his tone clearly less than excited about this.

"Anyways, let's get going. We have a light to return" says Roxas, putting Know-it-all back into its holding pouch, grabbing his blade with one hand and Xion's hand with the other before heading back to the ruins and to the portals.

As they reach the three star portal, Roxas stops and allows himself a moment to take in a deep breath. Sensing the sudden apprehension building within Roxas, Know-it-all ask "You feeling OK?"

"Yeah. I'm...just feeling anxious is all" says Roxas as he goes to step forward. "Let's do this..."

"Roxas..." says Xion suddenly, her hand reaching out and taking a hold of Roxas coat sleeve. He looks back at her as she ask "Can I...call you Roxas?"

"Xion..." he says before smiling at her. "Yeah, that's fine with me, Xion. Let's go." He turns back and walks into the portal with Xion following right behind him.

Like before, their passage within the tunnel of spiraling light with quite the trip for Roxas who takes a moment to look at Xion, wondering if this experience was having any effect on her mind or emotions. Not surprisingly, given her current state of mind, she remained rather neutral in her facial features.

And then the passed into the new world and, for a second, his vision went dark.

When his vision returned, he found himself a little on the wobbly side and needed a moment to orient himself. It was obvious though that they had arrived somewhere more different and new than anything he had seen before. This world was dark and dank with a strong fog filling the air. It was also a little on the cold side. As he looked around, he noticed something really odd.

The nearby street lamp was tall. Like, extremely super tall. It was as if he was looking up at a rather thin mountain. It only took a second before he realized why it was so big; it wasn't. He was just incredibly small. Turning back to look at Xion, he says "Well, it looks like we've been shrunken dow...mouse?"

Xion, though still dressed in the clothes that had been fashioned for her, was now looking way different as she had been transformed into a mouse. Roxas didn't need to look at himself to know he had also been transformed as Xion had been.

"Well, this is certainty gonna make things interesting while we're here" says Roxas. "So, can you detect Kairi's fragment at the moment?"

"Kind of" says Know-it-all. "But I can't get a good lock, sadly. All this fog in the air is somehow mucking with my powers to get its exact location."

"Well, care to make a guess then?" jokes Roxas.

"Roxas?" says Xion, making him look back to where she had been standing and finding her gone. A quick turn allows him to spot her standing a few feet away, holding a discarded news paper in hand. She then looks to him and holds the paper out to him.

"What's up?" he asked as he walks over to her and takes the paper and looks at the front page. What he sees upon it makes him smile. "Xion, I'm really glad you here." He then reads aloud the headline beneath the picture.

"Beloved Queen to show off Marvelous gemstone at Buckingham Palace Royal Art Exhibition."

They now know where they needed to go, with one little issue. Just where in this place was the palace? Luckily, that wasn't a major problem as at that moment, Roxas spotted a group of well dressed mice come walking into view, chatting away about the very exhibition the paper was talking about. Figuring they were heading to the palace, Roxas and Xion follow after them.

The palace was huge, especially looking at it from their reduced size. But Roxas assumed it was where a human queen reigned while the mouse queen simply had her own section fashioned within its walls though he doubted the human queen would be happy to learn of this truth. Seeing many a mouse passing through a gap within the iron fence, Roxas and Xion follow them and join in the crowd as they pass into the castle walls.

After passing through a fancy looking hall, they entered a large spacious room with many a piece of art and jewelry set out for all to see with several guards positions across the room in order to make sure no funny business happened. As he looked around for the fragment, Roxas couldn't help but feel there was many an eye on him on Xion, especially Xion.

Maybe that wasn't to surprising as they weren't exactly dressed like everyone else here. The attention on Xion was mostly coming from the men in the room, not that Roxas was surprised seeing as her manner of dress as well as her hair style were a little to different than what she was likely being expected to wear as a girl in this sort of place. Something told him her having all the right curves in all the right places made her even more desirable to the men here. The women, on the other hand, were giving her a rather sour look, likely shocked to see her dressed as she was and maybe wishing they had her looks.

As for Roxas himself? Something told him the men here were likely jealous of him having Xion at his side, thinking he didn't deserve the company of such a beautiful girl. That made Roxas wonder; if Kairi was here as well, then would seeing both her and Xion at his side make the men here want to kill him?

"Great, and now I'm fearing for my life" he says to himself over where his thoughts had led.

"Come again?" asked Know-it-all.

"Never mind. Just having some weird thoughts" replied Roxas.

"There..." says Xion suddenly, already pointing in the direction she was wanting him to look at.

Finally seeing the gem, Roxas says "OK, this was rather easy. Now, how do we get a hold of it?"

"Maybe find this queen and explain the situation to her?" offered Know-it-all.

"Would that really work? I mean, who knows how she came into having it" says Roxas.

"Well, we could always just steal it" says Know-it-all.

Roxas laughs at that, then says "Yeah, then we'd have every guard in this place hot on our tails. I guess we'll try talking to the queen once we find her and we'll see were this goes from there. What do you think Xi...Xion?"

Roxas realizes Xion was gone and quickly begins to look around. When he finally spots her a few seconds later, he nearly has a heart attack as he sees her walking towards the gem, her intention obvious to him.

"Wow, seems Xion isn't worried about the guards" says Know-it-all.

"Xi..." Roxas had to stop himself as his words were coming out like a yell which makes many in the room turn to look at him. He acts normal and unaware of having said anything, making them think it had just been their imaginations. He then does the best silent yell he can towards her.

"Xion, what are you doing?"

She stops and looks back at him long enough to say "You want the gem so I'm getting it for you." She then continues towards it while Roxas just stands there, unable to make himself move due to his shock.

Opposite them within the room was the Queen of all mousedom, dressed in all her best finery, as she talks to two fellow mice whom she both knew and had nothing but the greatest admiration and respect.

"Such a stunning display, majesty. Truly, a most splendid sight" says the chubby of the two male mice, older than his counterpart with a graying mustache.

"I concur that sentiment as well" says the younger mouse. "Our thanks for the personal invite you sent to us, your majesty."

The Queen laughs heartily, then says "Not at all, not at all, my dear Basil and Dr. Dawson. After everything the two of you have done over these last few months, how could I not ask London's two bravest detectives to come to this showing personally?"

Basil nods, then takes a moment to look around again which makes him realize something. "Say, isn't the number of guards on watch here rather thinned out? I would think given all that is being out on display and the importance of said items to both yourself and the country would demand more security to be in place."

The Queen gives him a warm smile, then says "My adviser also asked that question. But I doubt there will be any funny business seeing as there one only one fiend who would even attempt such a theft out in the open and he's long since been dealt with...by yourself no less."

"Ah yes, Ratigan" says Basil. "Can't say I miss him...yet..."

"He at least made things interesting for you I imagine" comes Dawson, placing his hand on the young mouse detective's shoulder.

"Yes, he did" agreed Basil. "Still, I'm happier with the peace and quiet we have now. Besides, I doubt any would be fool enough to try a theft right now. Not with so many witness's here and all."

Both Dawson and the Queen nod at that, then Dawson's eyes happen to look over at the star of the show just in time to see Xion walk up to it and claim it for herself like it was nothing.

"I say..." he says loudly to make both Basil and the Queen look at him before turning to look where he was looking. "What are you doing miss?"

The moment Xion's hands come into contact with the gem, it releases an intense light which fills the room, forcing everyone to cover their eyes. "What is this?" yells Basil.

Xion's body goes rigid while her eyes roll into the back of her head and she collapses onto the ground. The gem falls from her hands and rolls along the ground while the light from the gem fades. Roxas runs over to her and takes her into his arms. "Xion? Xion? Are you alright?"

"Guards, thieves. Stop them" commands the Queen, suffering a momentary halt in her orders at the sight of someone actually having the gall to steal in such an open and exposed way.

Immediately, the six guards in the room converge onto Roxas, making him curse his luck while he stands and pulls out his weapon. Defeating these soldier's was an easy task for him, though he made sure not to hurt them to much. But no sooner than they fall in defeat do more come running in, these ones looking a lot tougher. Knowing he couldn't win like this, he releases a Frosty Mist spell to force them back, then picks up Xion and the gem and tries to make a run for it.

"Not so fast, little thief" yells Basil, tackling Roxas with a sudden leg sweep which sends Xion and the gem flying. Before he could recover, Roxas finds several guards pinning him down while restraining his arms and legs. To his side, he spies Xion also being pinned despite being unconscious.

"Young man, what ever possessed you to sneak in here and try to steal that which isn't yours?" asked the Queen.

"Because the gem belongs to a friends of mine. It was stolen from her and it's my job to get it back. Please...let me go" yells Roxas.

"The nerve..." retorts the captain of the guard. "Are you daring to say our beloved Queen had something stolen from someone? How horrid."

"No, I'm not accusing her of stealing it. Please, you need to believe me though. I'm not lying. If you just let me..."

"Enough" yells the captain. "Men, escort this scamp and his partner to the tower dungeon. Once her majesty has had a chance to recover from this mess, she'll decide one what we should do to them." The guards nod before hauling Roxas off, the young warrior doing his best to remain in the room while another guard takes Xion, clearly liking his job right now as his prisoner wasn't awake to fight him."

"I say, that was quite the sudden turn" says Dawson.

"And to think he claimed your majesty's gem was stolen from his friend. Quite a tale he told, wouldn't you a...gree?" Basil's words slowed as he saw the somber look on the Queen's face. "Please tell me his words can't mean that..."

"Basil, Dr. Dawson, will you both come with me. There is something in private I wish to speak with you both about" says the Queen before leading them from the room to another, more private chamber.

"What is all this about?" asked Basil.

"As hard as it is to believe, I feel that boy's claim may hold some merit of truth to it" says the Queen.

"But how could that be possible?" asked Dawson.

"The other day, as I was going through all the royal treasures that would be put out on display for this gala, I came across this very gem...one that I had never seen before that day. I knew it was not one of ours yet I could not determine how it had come to be mixed in with all the others. Despite this, I was compelled to put it on display by a power beyond my comprehension."

"Puzzling indeed" says Basil. "And you sure you no not how you came to have this gem he claims to be his friends property?"

The Queen shakes her head. "Detective Basil and his partner, Dr. Dawson. Will you undertake a new job from your Queen?"

They both nod and say they would without hesitation. "Go to the dungeon and meet with this boy and ask him to tell you both his story. I hear you are quite good at telling when one is being truthful or not, right Basil?"

Basil tugs on his coat proudly. "I've never known to be wrong before."

"Then use that talent and get the truth, then return to me and tell me what you have determined. I will decide then on how to proceed with this matter" says the Queen.

"As you wish" says Basil before turning and heading out of the room. "Come Dawson, back to Baker Street."

"Baker Street?" says Dawson, running to catch up. "But why there? The tower isn't on Baker Street."

"True, but in order to do as her majesty asked us, I will need something of the utmost importance" says Basil as they move quickly to return to their quaint little hovel of a home.

Elsewhere within London, Roxas found himself a prisoner on his way to jail; inside a tower from what he understood. He was now walking with several guards around him with his arms bound behind his back and one of the guards holding his weapon. Leading them was the captain who had taken it upon himself to carry the unconscious Xion.

"Sir, there's no need for you to have to lug around that criminal" comes one of the guards. "Surely one of us could do that for you?"

"Nonsense, soldier. What kind of captain would I be if I left you all to do the work?" comes the captain. Roxas doesn't fail to notice the annoyed looks the guards were giving their captain as well as his own joyful tone. Clearly, he was enjoying having a cute girl like Xion in his arms and his men were each wishing that it could be them doing the job himself.

"You know, this is really unnecessary" says Roxas. "If you just take me back to the palace, I'd be willing to explain everything to your queen and..."

"Quiet thief. There will be no attempt of trickery from you" says the captain.

Roxas glares at him for a second before noticing something none of them had yet. Xion was starting to regain consciousness. This makes an idea pop into his head. "Fine, but you'll regret not letting us go."

"Oh, and what makes you say that?" asked the captain, looking back at him.

"Because my partner isn't one for this sort of thing being done to us and she will kick all of your butts if you don't let us go" says Roxas, wondering if Xion was awake enough to hear him.

"Really?" says the captain, sounding surprised as he looks back at Xion. "This cute little..."

He didn't finish as Xion's head lurch's up towards his suddenly, landing a powerful headbutt against his head which makes him stagger back before falling to the ground unconscious. As he falls, Xion slips from his grasp and lands on her feet, her eyes locking onto the other guards.

"Let Roxas go now" she yells before charging at them. The guards around Roxas try to fight back, though unsure on just what they should do against her. Their hesitation didn't stop Xion as she punch's and kicks all of them into unconsciousness as well. She then grabs the keys to Roxas cuffs off one of the guards before moving to his side to free his hands.

"Roxas, are you OK? Those guys didn't hurt you did they?" asked Xion.

"No, I'm fine. But...what about you, Xion?" asked Roxas, looking at her and her new found personality.

"I'm fine apart from a little headache" says Xion.

"No, that's not what I meant" says Roxas.

"Huh? It wasn't? Then what did you mean?" asked Xion.

"He's talking about your whole mind and emotional state. Before, you were like a mindless zombie, void of any emotions. Now you're talking and sounding filled with feeling" says Know-it-all.

"I was?" says Xion, thinking back on it. She then remembers which makes her blush while she scratches the back of her head while giggling a little. "Yeah, I guess I was rather spacey, huh? I wonder what happened to me?"

"It must have been when you touched Kairi's light fragment" says Roxas.

"That makes sense if her Figment self was really created by Kairi. Her fragmented heart must have added some personality and feeling to your existence" says Know-it-all. "Say brat, better tie up these guards before the wake up or we'll have to deal with them again."

"Right" says Roxas, already moving to do just that. Once he had done that and retrieved his sword, he ask Xion "So, do you...remember anything about your self and...your reason for being?"

"I...I don't, sorry. All I can recall is that island and meeting you and those furry creatures" says Xion. "Is there something important I should be remembering?"

Roxas places a hand on her shoulder and says "Only you can answer that question. Anyways, we need to get back to the castle and get the gem before any Thoughtless start showing up."

Roxas then begins to run back in the direction of the castle with Xion just a few steps behind. "You both do realize we'll need to break in and steal it, right? Have no issues with becoming thieves?" asked Know-it-all.

"Not like we have much of a choice" says Roxas. "Just do me a favor and not tell anyone about this."

Xion laughs and says "I don't know why, but I feel like this is gonna be fun."

Fifteen minutes later, Basil and Dawson come walking onto the scene. "I can't believe you needed to fetch your pipe just for a simple talk with the lad."

"Come, come now, Dawson. You know the pipe helps to heighten my focus and allows my mind to be at its peek" comes Basil.

"You can't be..." Dawson didn't get to finish as the sound of the captain and his guards yelling for help which allows them to finally notice the tied up guards. Running up to them, Basil ask "What has happened here?"

"Ah...that little thief was more troublesome and clever than we had expected. He broke free from his shackles, knocked us out, and I assume kidnapped that poor innocent girl" says the captain, not wanting to admit that it had been the girl who had taken them out, nor admit the girl was in any way a villain as he found her to adorable to feel anger towards.

"But captain, it was the girl who..."

"Silence, dummy. Forgive him master Basil, he must have hit his head which had led to him to think weird thoughts" says the captain. "But you need to hurry. I fear the boy will return to the castle and make another attempt as his villainy."

"Right, captain. Come Dawson, we haven't a moment to lose" says Basil, quickly breaking into a run back in the direction to the castle.

"Ri..right, let's hurry" says Dawson as he follows though his husky frame made his run slower.

"God speed, brave detectives" says the captain.

"They could have untied us before running off" comes one of the guards. "That way, we could have gone along and helped protect the queen and the royal treasures."

The captain blinks, realizing that was true. "Ah curses..."

Roxas and Xion finally arrive at the castle, finding the main entrance under heavy guard. "So, what are we gonna do, Roxas?"

"I'd rather not have to fight if I can avoid it. Know-it-all, is there any other way to get inside that would allow us to bypass the guards?"

"Hm, let me see" says Know-it-all, going silent as it uses its sensory powers to detect. "There's a door that leads into the kitchen we can use. I can't detect any guards or servants inside or out."

"That'll have to do" says Roxas. "Where is it?"

Once they had reached the door, Roxas tries to open it but finds it locked. "Well, should have seen that coming."

"Just so you know, brat. I can't do anything to unlock it" says Know-it-all.

"I figured that much" says Roxas before taking hold of Know-it-all and handing it to Xion. "I'm gonna try to pick the lock. Xion, take Know-it-all and go keep watch for anyone who could cause us trouble."

"Alright" says Xion, taking Know-it-all.

"Wait, you know how to pick locks?" asked Know-it-all.

"Not really, but Robin and Little John did show me a few things back in Sherwood" says Roxas before turning his attention to the door.

Xion heads over to the far side of the fence, taking a look around and seeing no one. "Know-it-all, how do I know if someone coming will cause us trouble or not?"

"What? You really need to ask that? Just assume everyone is a threat" says Know-it-all.

"Really? Roxas, what do you think?" asked Xion, looking back at him and finding a glow fading from around his hand. "Rox..."

"OK, it's open. Let's hurry" says Roxas, opening the door.

"How'd you just do that?" asked Know-it-all. "How did you pick that lock so quickly?"

"I just had then right 'key' for the job. Nothing else to it" says Roxas. He then enters into the kitchen with Xion following right behind him.

Back at the main entrance, Basil and Dawson arrive. "So, do you think they've already arrived and have gotten inside?"

Basil looks at the guards then back to Dawson and says "If they have made their way inside, it wasn't through the main entrance. Let me see..." He then kneels down and examines the ground. "They were here and they...headed this way." He then jumps to his feet and runs towards the kitchen entrance.

"More running. Ah, my poor legs..." moan Dawson as he again runs after Basil.

Inside the palace, Roxas and Xion found themselves doing something rather different than they had expected to do; sneaking from one room to another without being seen and caught by the guards stationed around the grounds. Not surprisingly, this made Roxas again think how all of this reminded him of a game. But soon enough, they reached the doors to the large room where the gallery was being held.

"Is this the room, Know-it-all?" asked Roxas.

"Yeah, the fragment's presence is strongest beyond this door."

"Will you need to pick the lock on this door too?" asked Xion.

Roxas reaches out and touches the handle, giving it a turn and, to his surprise, finds the door unlocked. "Strange, I would have thought they'd lock the door after what happened earlier?"

"It may have been locked before" says Know-it-all. "I'm detecting someone inside the room. Someone who's exuding a dark aura around him..."

"Thoughtless?" asked Xion.

"Crumbs" says Roxas, opening the door quickly and running inside while drawing his weapon. He and Xion come to a stop when they see the figure Know-it-all was sensing, a tall rat dressed in stylish finery, standing before the fragment.

"Oh, now I can see why my dear Contessa Desiree would want me to bring her this gemstone. Surely, it is the most beautiful of treasures" says the rat as he reaches out to claim the fragment.

"Stop" yells Roxas, making the rat jump. "Don't even think about it."

"And what is this? Have I been caught by the guards...?" The rat turns back and, upon seeing Roxas and Xion, becomes both confused and annoyed. "What? Just a bunch of annoying brats. Tell me, squeeklings, just how did you two find yourselves in here? Get lost during the earlier festivities?"

"Same way you did, I'm guessing" says Roxas.

"Oh?" he says before a thought runs through him. He chuckles before saying "I see now. You must have come here to claim this glorious stone, am I right? A gift for your girl there I assume. Sorry, but I've already have laid claim to this gem so I'm afraid you'll have to find her something else."

"And I'm sorry to say that's not happening. That gem belongs to a friend of mine and I'm not letting anyone stop me from getting it and returning it back to her" says Roxas.

"How amusing. To think a child like you would assume to have skill enough to take this from me? I'm not sure if I should be insulted or flattered by your moxie, boy. Tell me, what's your name?"

"Tell me your first" counters Roxas. "That's how its done in polite circles."

Before the rat could respond to that, Basil and Dawson come running into the room. "Ah hah, there you are you little..." Basil's words freeze just as his movement does when his eyes see who else was in the room.

"Professor Ratigan?" he says, his tone one of shock and skepticism.

"Basil" says Ratigan, his tone low and angry in sound.

Roxas looks back at Basil then back at Ratigan then to Xion and says to her "Looks like they know each other."

"How...how can you be here?" asked Dawson. "We saw you fall to your death several months ago."

Ratigan's facial features change from angry to amused as he says "Oh, my foolish little overweight doctor. Thinking such a thing could bring me to an end..."

"How did you survive?" asked Basil, still a little taken aback by seeing his old rival again.

"Since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you" says Ratigan before he begins to walk in circles around the fragment. "I admit, even I believed I would die from my fall. But, due to the strong winds brought on by the storm, I was pushed enough to make me land within the river by the clock tower. The waters saved me from death but I feared I would drown from the bones broken from the impact. That's when she came and saved me..."

"She?" asked Dawson.

"Who?" adds Basil.

"My precious angel, the most beautiful mouse in all the land. My beloved Contessa Desiree" says Ratigan, his tone and eyes almost wispy and serene. "She saved me and nursed me back to health. Since then, I have devoted my life to her and making her happy. When this gem was shown off in the papers, I knew she would want it for her own so..."

Ratigan then grabs the gem from the alter and says "I have claimed this piece of art for her and the love she gives. Now, I shall bid you all adieu..."

"Stop" yells Roxas as he rushes Ratigan, already swinging his sword to knock the fragment from Ratigan's hands. "I won't let you take Kairi's heart."

"Fool" says Ratigan as he snaps a finger, making something appear in between him and Roxas. This new being also has a blade, a rapier, which it uses to counter Roxas attack then pushes him back away. As Roxas steady's himself, he sees as several more enemies like the first appear as well as several others that looked like dogs.

"Now then boys..." says Ratigan. "Remove these creatures from my sight."

**_to be continued..._**

**AN: **_Due to the length this chapter was looking to be (it was already at twenty pages and was still far from being finished), I decided to break it up into two chapters with the second planned to be released before the end of the month. While having to add another chapter because of this wasn't planned, it's not a big issue as there was going to be another chapter or two anyways in order to have a proper final battle location as the one I had originally planned just wasn't good enough for that status. Till then..._


End file.
